Strawberries and Butterflies
by Sommek236
Summary: After Ikuno confessed her love to Ichigo and the squad leader turned her down, Ichigo couldn't help but keep thinking about it. Realizing that these thoughts weren't going away, she decides that no matter what, she needs to figure her own feelings out. Takes place after episode 18 - cross-posted with AO3
1. Chapter 1 - Fishing

A little bit after dinner, when almost everyone had retired to their rooms for bed, Ichigo was lucky enough to run into Goro in the hallway. The tallest member of Squad 13 seemed to be on his way to the room that he had, until recently, shared with Hiro, ready to wind down for bed as well. Catching his eye, Ichigo waved and said, "Hey, Goro, can I talk to you for a sec?"

He stopped and gave her a warm smile, responding, "Sure, what's up Ichigo?"

Ichigo looked off to the side for a moment before shifting her gaze back to her partner, then asked, "You're going fishing tomorrow morning, right?"

With a light chuckle, Goro responded, "Yeah, I'm going with Zero Two tomorrow."

Blushing now in slight embarrassment over her attempts to keep her motivation hidden, Ichigo again averted her gaze as she said, "Can I go fishing with you tomorrow, instead of Zero Two? I…I need to talk to you about something."

Now both intrigued and puzzled, Goro said, "Uh…yeah, sure. But can I ask why?"

Part of her wanted to just talk to him about it here and now; just get this bit of stress dealt with and out of the way. But no, she didn't want to risk anyone overhearing what she had to say, and she wanted to spend some time alone with Goro anyway in order to see if how she felt was true.

So instead of answering the boy's question, Ichigo quickly said, "I'll see you tomorrow morning Goro, goodnight!" And with that, she scurried off, blushing furiously in the wake of her extremely poor attempt to get some guaranteed time alone with Goro.

Scratching the back of his head, Goro watched as his partner hurried off in the direction of the girls' dorms. With a shrug, he started to make his way to the room that Hiro and Zero Two shared in order to let the girl know that her excellent fishing skills were not going to be exercised the next morning.

 _It's a shame_ , he thought, _since she's even better than me at fishing._

But, at least he got to actually spend some time alone with his partner; the girl to whom he had expressed his love. A small part of Goro hoped that maybe, just maybe Ichigo had decided that she wanted to be with him after all. But he didn't want to expect too much or something that wasn't coming, so before he could start down the path of worrying about what he would wear (even though he only had multiple pairs of the same two outfits; the parasite uniform and formal attire) or if he should act a certain way, he instead simply took a calming breath and decided that he would enter tomorrow without any expectations, just as he had done since he was a child.

* * *

Just as sunlight began to stream through the window of her and Ikuno's room, Ichigo awoke. She blinked and tried to rub the bleariness from her eyes, then yawned and stretched her arms over her head. She quietly got dressed so as to not disturb her roommate who, Ichigo had to admit, was kind of cute as she slept hugging herself, as if waiting for someone to be in her arms.

 _For_ me _to be in her arms_ , Ichigo realized after a moment. Something panged in her chest, but before she could dwell on it for too long, she refocused on the task at hand and exited her room. She finished getting ready in the girls' bathroom, then hurried down the stairs to the common area at the front of the boarding house.

Goro was already there, checking through his gear to make sure that he had remembered to grab both of his good rods, enough lures, and some snacks. Focused as he was, he failed to notice Ichigo as she quietly made her way down the stairs and came to a stop a foot away from him.

She broke the silence when she tentatively said, "Good morning, Goro."

Startled, the boy fumbled with what he was holding and dropped a lure back into his tackle box. Ichigo started to apologize, but Goro was chuckling and only said, "It's fine, Ichigo; you just startled me is all," smoothly placating his partner.

He had honestly just been trying to kill time by going through his gear, as he already knew that he had brought all of the necessities. So, after a moment of somewhat awkward silence where Ichigo looked unsure of what was supposed to happen next, Goro decidedly took the lead.

"Let's get going," he said smiling, "this is the best time to catch the best-tasting fish." Ichigo smiled back and nodded, and with that, he picked up all of the gear himself and together they left the house, Goro leading the way to his favorite fishing spot.

* * *

Setting up on a small boulder at the edge of a bend in one of the many streams of Mistilteinn, Goro placed all of his tools on the ground next to him before proceeding to pull off his socks and shoes. After he sat down on the boulder and let his lower legs and feet swing through the cool and refreshing morning water, Ichigo followed suit.

He handed her a rod and explained how she should hold it, what she should look out for to let her know that she had something on the line, and how to reel in a fish once she indeed had one hooked. All the while, Ichigo nodded and seemed to be listening, but Goro could tell that she was distracted, thinking about something else.

 _Probably whatever it was that she didn't want to talk to me about last night_ , he thought to himself. But, he knew that she would tell him eventually when she was ready, and they had all morning for her to do so.

So, for the next fifteen minutes, they sat in comfortable silence, listening to the sound of the chirping birds all around them and the babbling of the stream as it passed them by.

Finally, Ichigo looked over at Goro and opened her mouth to talk, but hesitated. She had been thinking a lot about this, about how she felt about Goro and his admission of love. She felt sure in her decision, now. Clearing her throat, she started, "Goro."

Looking to his right at Ichigo, Goro raised his eyebrows and responded, "What's up?"

She took one hand off of her rod to scratch at her neck, feeling as heat started to crawl up to color her cheeks a light pink. "Um, so the reason I wanted to come out here this morning with you is that…is that I wanted to tell you something."

Suppressing a slight chuckle at her statement of the obvious and sensing her nervousness, Goro instead reassuringly said, "Sure, take your time."

 _Why does he have to be so nice all of the time_ , Ichigo thought to herself. It just made this harder.

"About what you said…"

Even after all of this time, Goro didn't need to ask to know what she was referring to. Instead of responding, he sat quietly and listened to his partner speak.

Ichigo took a moment to steel herself against the nerves that were trying to rob her of her voice, then said, "Goro, you're the best partner and friend that I could have asked for, and you look out for me even when it's stupidly dangerous for you." She was of course referring to his stunt with the klaxosaur that had absorbed Delphinium; when Goro had ejected Ichigo to save her and almost sacrificed his life to eliminate the klaxosaur threat.

"I really care about you a lot," she continued. Then tears started forming at the corners of her eyes. Now was the hardest part: "But I don't love you, at least not in the way that you love me. I'm sorry." She closed her eyes, shaking from the emotional toll that her admission had taken on her. She felt selfish, mean; like she was hurting Goro unnecessarily.

But she had needed to do this. She didn't want Goro to wait forever for her to reciprocate his feelings, and she wanted him to be happy. Maybe, if they all survived the coming battle that the Nines had talked about before their departure, Goro would end up meeting a girl from another plantation and be with her.

But she couldn't know if that would happen. There were too many possibilities. Suddenly the thought of losing Goro struck her, and Ichigo started to cry harder, trying her best to remain silent as her shoulders shook and tears steadily rolled down her cheeks. It was too much; it was all too much.

She was surprised when she felt a pair of arms gently encircle and embrace her, realizing a moment later that Goro was hugging her, trying to calm her as he patted her back. She could have laughed; here she was, crushing his dreams of being with her, and instead of being upset or even bitter, he was comforting _her_.

But that was who Goro was, wasn't it? No matter how someone treated him, he always tried to be nice, to be a friend. And that was what made this so hard; there was no real reason for Ichigo to turn Goro down, save for her lack of romantic feelings for him.

Was she being selfish? Only time would tell. If she was, she was sure that she would get what was coming to her; if she wasn't, she hoped that everyone would end up happy in the end, and that her actions did not cause harm to anyone else. She had already caused enough damage trying and failing to steal Hiro away from Zero Two.

For the time being however, she closed her eyes and lost herself in the rhythmic circles Goro was rubbing on her back as he continued to comfort her. She rested her head on his shoulder and eventually, the tears stopped flowing and she felt that she had regained her composure, for the most part.

Feeling her breathing become steady again, Goro gently leaned back to make sure that Ichigo's tears had indeed stopped flowing. Seeing that they had, he let her go and moved to give her a little bit of breathing room.

Eventually, Ichigo wiped the few remaining tears from her eyes and flushed cheeks, then she looked to Goro, waiting to see how he would respond.

He wasn't looking at her when he simply said, "I know."

Ichigo blinked in surprise. Then she said, "You do?"

Smiling sadly, Goro said, "Yeah. We're partners, remember? I see your thoughts whenever we sync in Delphinium." He inhaled deeply, then looked off into the distance, visually following the stream until he lost it in the trees. "I've known for a while, now."

Somewhat shocked at his admission, Ichigo sat silently for a couple of minutes, watching the water flow by on its way to the lake at the center of the bird cage.

Then Goro said, "I can't say I'm not disappointed, but I understand."

Ichigo looked at her partner and asked, "Really?"

He looked back at her as he smiled and said, "Really. I don't want you to feel badly, Ichigo. I said I was being selfish when I told you how I felt, but I needed to do it. It's okay if you don't feel the same, I honestly never expected you to. I just needed that weight off of my shoulders."

Ichigo understood that sentiment all too well. Her love for Hiro had caused enough problems on missions that, had she not gone through the excruciating process of finding out whether he could ever love her back, who knew what tragedies might have befallen Squad 13. But luckily, her selfishness in that situation had led to the team becoming a stronger iteration than ever before, and Hiro had ultimately found happiness with Zero Two. Even though Ichigo would never be with Hiro, knowing that he was happy was enough for her.

And that was how Goro probably felt about her, Ichigo realized. Even though he would never be with her, he was just happy knowing that she would eventually find happiness herself. And that was why she had had to do this; just as Hiro had made it clear that Ichigo was just his close friend and nothing more, Ichigo had to make the same thing clear to Goro. So that he could find happiness too, some day.

The two parasites sat quietly for several minutes, not needing to talk to fill the silence. Whatever tension Ichigo had felt before, now she could finally feel herself relaxing. There was no more immense weight on her shoulders; no more guilt over knowing that Goro was waiting patiently in the hopes that she would someday reciprocate his feelings.

Goro picked up his rod; it had been resting on the rocky surface next to him, forgotten during Ichigo's emotional admission. Ichigo picked hers up as well, and the pair enjoyed another few minutes in calm silence.

Eventually, Goro pulled out a couple of bread rolls left over from dinner the night before. They were both wrapped in small napkins; he handed one to Ichigo, who thanked him, then proceeded to unwrap his and took a bite.

After they had finished eating the snack, Goro cleared his throat and asked, "So… is there someone that you're, uh, you know, interested in?" He immediately coughed and said, "If you don't mind my asking, that is."

Ichigo felt her cheeks heat up again as she contemplated the question. She said, "Well…yes and no."

He smiled and said, "Oh? Who?" His face grew serious. "Please don't tell me it's Zorome…"

Ichigo made a disgusted noise and essentially yelled, " _What_?! Uck no way!"

Goro laughed at her reaction, thoroughly amused with the response that mentioning their hyperactive friend brought on.

Shaking her head at her friend, Ichigo thought for a moment, debating on whether or not she should tell him about Ikuno. Ikuno had seemed to be worried about what the others might think of her having feelings for another girl, and Ikuno had kept those feelings a secret for years. Knowing how Goro was, however, Ichigo felt that she could trust him with this information.

"Okay," she began in a serious voice, "I'll tell you. But you have to promise to keep it a secret."

Intrigued, Goro said, "Okay, sure."

Blushing even more now and finding it hard to look Goro in the eye, Ichigo held out her hand to him, pinky finger outstretched, and repeated, "Promise!"

Raising an eyebrow at the girl's antics, Goro reached out and locked his pinky finger with hers and replied, "I promise not to tell anyone."

Ichigo nodded and said – more to herself than to him – "good; okay."

Taking a deep breath, Ichigo said, "Two days ago, I went to check on Ikuno after what happened with the Nines."

Goro simply nodded, not wanting to interrupt her.

Ichigo continued, "When I asked if she was feeling all right, she asked me if I really cared that much; cared about _her_. Then she admitted to me that, ever since we were kids, she's only ever had eyes for me and that she loves me."

Eyebrows slowly raising in surprise at this new information, Goro was only able to say, "Oh. Wow, okay." He took a few more moments to fully process this revelation about his fellow glasses-wearer, then said, "So, is that everything that happened? What did you do?"

Ichigo felt like small flames must have been erupting across her face as she spoke, "At one point, she had pushed me onto my back on her bed, and... and I thought she was going to kiss me."

Leaning forward, Goro asked, "Did she?"

"No," Ichigo answered. _But a part of me wonders what it would have felt like if she had_. She inhaled a few times to try and get her thoughts in order, and to calm the flush in her cheeks.

Meanwhile, Goro finally felt a tug on his line. Ichigo watched silently as he battled with the fish, eventually pulling it up and out of the water. Goro calmly removed the hook from the large fish's mouth, then Ichigo had to look away as he clubbed it on the head with what she assumed was a fishing club, ending the creature's pain. Goro placed the fish in the special container he had brought, then made sure that his lure was undamaged before casting the line back into the water.

Once Ichigo felt that her blush had mostly subsided, she continued. "I ended up telling her that I used to be like her; a pain trying to be with someone that I couldn't, and that I was sure she would find happiness someday."

Goro looked at Ichigo. "So, you turned her down."

Ichigo nodded slowly, "Yeah. Kind of? I don't think I handled it very well."

Goro spent a few beats in silence, then said, "So…how _do_ you feel about her?

Ichigo looked at her partner and smiled as she jokingly responded, "I thought you could see into my head."

Goro smiled in response and said, "Yeah, but this thing with Ikuno happened _after_ the last time we used the FranXX. We haven't synced since then."

Ichigo laughed lightly and said, "True." After a moment, she grew serious again and said, "Honestly, I don't know how I feel. That's one of the reasons I wanted to go fishing with you today.

"All I know is that I haven't been able to stop thinking about her confession since it happened, and now I feel awkward whenever I'm around her. I try not to show it because I don't want her to be uncomfortable, but I feel like I need to _do_ something."

Goro reeled in his line before placing his rod back down on the rocky surface next to him. Scratching the back of his head, he leaned back on one arm. After a few moments, he said, "Why don't you spend some time alone with her? Like what you did with me today? Maybe that'll help clear up whatever you're feeling, and you'll be able to put it to rest once and for all."

Somewhat shocked at his apparent acceptance of the fact that Ikuno was attracted to another girl, and Ichigo at that, the blue-haired girl couldn't help but ask one of the questions that had been burning in her mind since Ikuno's confession: "So you don't think it's weird that Ikuno and I are both girls? That she loves _me_ and not one of the boys?"

Goro looked Ichigo directly in the eyes now as he said, "I don't think it's weird that she loves you, Ichigo. Trust me, I of all people understand why she would."

Ichigo blushed again. Damn the human body and its responses to emotions.

Goro continued, "And if I've learned anything from Hiro and Zero Two, it's that love can take any form, and be between any two people. Most of us wouldn't call Zero Two human, and in reality, she's not.

"But that didn't stop Hiro from falling in love with her and finding true happiness. So, no, I don't think it's weird or crazy at all that Ikuno loves you. As I said, I think you should spend some time with her and see what happens – if that's what you want, of course."

Was that what she wanted? She had essentially turned Ikuno down immediately, but after the amount of time she had had to think about it, Ichigo really was considering each aspect of this possibility. As squad leader, Ichigo had to be able to look at situations from different perspectives, but she had no good experience in this area, and especially with another girl. Her romantic endeavors with Hiro were equivalent to a burning klaxosaur corpse, but they had indeed ended up remaining friends.

Ichigo began to question herself: _What's the worst that can happen if I give this a chance and it doesn't work out? What if she's who I'm meant to be with? If this doesn't work out…will we still be able to be friends? Will this negatively affect the upcoming mission the Nines mentioned? What if this somehow destroys the team? What if…._

Seeing Ichigo's gaze lose focus and become clouded as the girl lost herself in a sea of increasingly negative questions and self-doubt, Goro placed his hands on her shoulders and gently shook her. Ichigo blinked and shook her head, looking up into Goro's eyes. He said, "Listen, you can just spend time together as friends. It's not like you have to make a decision right this second. The more time you spend with her, the clearer your own feelings will become. I'm sure that you only felt confident enough to tell me how you feel about me because of how close we already are, right?"

Ichigo nodded. It was true; had it been any of the other boys – besides Hiro – admitting their love to her, she probably would have brushed it off and not acknowledged it, for fear of ruining her relationship with said suitor as a friend.

So maybe Goro was right. Maybe the best course of action was to spend some time with Ikuno, one-on-one.

Overwhelmed by the support Goro had shown her, Ichigo pulled her partner into a tight hug, burying her head into his shoulder. After a few moments, she pulled back and said, "Thank you Goro; for understanding my feelings, for listening to me, and for being such a good friend."

It was finally Goro's turn to blush. As he looked away and brought a hand to the back of his head, he said, "Yeah, well, you're welcome, Ichigo. I'm glad that you trust me as much as you do. And," he picked up his rod and recast his line, "I hope you do find someone to share your heart with, whether it's Ikuno, or someone else. I hope you find true love."

Blushing again herself, Ichigo whispered a quiet, "Thank you, Goro. You, too." Then she picked up her rod and recast her line as well.

* * *

A few hours later, they had managed to catch a total of 16 fish; ten by Goro, six by Ichigo. They packed up their gear and haul, then proceeded to make their way back to the boarding house to share the bounty with the rest of the squad.

As the house came into sight through the trees, Goro asked, "So, what are you going to do now?"

"I've been thinking about that, actually," Ichigo responded. She wanted advice, but this was something only another, _specific_ , girl could help her with. At least, she _hoped_ she could help her. "I need to go talk to someone. I'll let you know how it goes."

Goro smiled and said, "Can't wait."

They walked the rest of the way to the house in silence, simply enjoying each other's company. It wasn't too long before they heard talking and saw that some of their friends had begun their morning chores as well.

For the first time in a few days, Ichigo felt like things were truly looking up.


	2. Chapter 2 - A Clean Slate

Ichigo tentatively raised her hand to knock on the door in front of her. Just as she was about to gently rap her knuckles against the wood, she found herself hesitating. While she had certainly felt confident about her plan of action, her sense of resolve had been slowly eroding following breakfast with the squad. Now she was second-guessing herself, aware of the fact that her encounters with this particular squad mate had – until recently – almost always seemed to unfold in unforeseen and more often-than-not negative ways.

But this was the only person with experience in the field of romance besides Hiro and Kokoro; Ichigo was _not_ going to Hiro for advice for obvious reasons, and she had decided against going to Kokoro, as the girl still seemed traumatized by her experiences with Alpha and Nana days before. Thinking of her friend, Ichigo decided that she would have to get the other girls to figure out a way to cheer Kokoro up and show solidarity in the face of what had happened. But, that was for another time.

For now, this was the only person Ichigo could go to for advice on matters of the heart. Focusing, Ichigo gave the door a hard look, collected herself with a breath, and raised her hand again, fully prepared to knock. As her fist moved to perform the action however, she only met empty air.

In front of her, the closed door had been replaced by a bored-looking Zero Two, who currently held the entryway open. She was clad in her typical uniform; dressier but more individualized in design and color-scheme than those of the rest of Squad 13. The girl rolled her eyes with a knowing smile and said, "How long are you going to take? You've been standing out here for the last five minutes."

Shaken by Zero Two's abrupt appearance, Ichigo could only think to ask, "Wh-what? How did you know I was here?"

Zero Two responded with a light chuckle and said, "Well, I could smell you of course!"

 _Smell me?_ Ichigo thought to herself. She self-consciously angled her head to see if she smelled. _I bathed this morning, same as everyone else…._

Rolling her eyes again at Ichigo's response to her statement and wanting to get whatever… _this_ was moving, Zero Two clarified, "I can smell everyone. Part-klaxosaur, remember?" she tapped her horns in emphasis. It seemed that the girl embraced her klaxosaur genes when it suited her. Leaning against the doorway and crossing her arms, she asked, "So, what's this about? Am I in trouble again?" She didn't sound the least bit concerned if that were indeed the case, however.

Ichigo shook her head emphatically as she sputtered, "What? No, no, I just...need to talk. To you. About something." She mentally berated herself for how she sounded. _Get it together Ichigo, you're the squad leader for crying out loud!_

Already this was going absolutely nothing like any of the hypothetical situations Ichigo had imagined and tried to plan for, so she just went with the straightforward approach. Taking a deep breath to restore some of her lost composure, Ichigo gave the pink-haired girl an earnest look before clarifying her previous statement with a question, "Zero Two, would I be able to ask you for some advice?"

Now it was Zero Two's turn to look surprised for once. It wasn't every day that Squad 13's super-bossy leader came to _her_ for help. Intrigued by this turn of events, Zero Two maintained her façade of nonchalance by examining her nails as she simply said, "Sure, what is it?"

Ichigo anxiously bounced the fingertips of one hand off of their counterparts on the other as she asked, "Can we talk about it inside?" She gestured to the interior of Zero Two's room.

Oh, Zero Two was most certainly intrigued. But instead of betraying her interest, she simply nodded and stepped to the side as she said, "Sure, come in."

She closed the door after Ichigo walked past her into the room. The blue-haired girl stood off to the side, seemingly unsure of what to do with herself now that she was actually in the room. She looked idly at the picture-book that Zero Two and Hiro had been painstakingly recreating – well, painstakingly on Zero Two's part at least, but the pink-haired girl loved her Darling's adorable attempts at art all the same.

Zero Two sat down on the edge of the bed she shared with Hiro and patted the spot next to her, indicating for Ichigo to sit next to her.

Ichigo nodded in thanks and sat down next to Zero Two, leaving some space for her to turn to the other girl and talk to her. Silently, the two faced each other; Ichigo hesitating and looking everywhere but Zero Two's face as she tried to formulate a way to continue, while Zero Two's piercing cyan gaze stared directly at Ichigo, waiting for her to speak.

Fiddling with the hem of her uniform's skirt and feeling her cheeks begin to lightly blush, Ichigo finally said, "I need some advice on how to… how to get _closer_ to someone."

"Hmm? What do you mean by ' _get closer_ ,' Ichigo?" Zero Two teasingly asked.

Already flustered, Ichigo continued, "I mean, how do you…how do get to be with someone the way _you_ are with Hiro." At this point, she could feel her cheeks fully flush in response to her own line of questioning. It wasn't lost on her how Zero Two's eyes lit up at the mention of Hiro, and a grin began to slowly form on the girl's annoyingly pretty face.

Zero Two shifted so that she was laying on the bed, hands interlaced behind her head on her pillow and long legs extended behind Ichigo, feet crossed. She said, "So you've moved on, huh? Who is it that's captured your heart's fancy, I wonder."

Ichigo was beginning to think that this had been a bad idea. She could see that Zero Two was going to take her time and thoroughly enjoy this. In an effort to circumvent this, she said, "Listen, I know you and I haven't exactly seen eye-to-eye before, but-"

Zero Two cut in and playfully said with a laugh, "Well I _am_ taller than you."

Ichigo took a moment to glare at her, then continued, "I was _saying_ we haven't always gotten along, but things have been good recently and it's been nice."

Zero Two finally seemed somewhat more serious as she nodded, and Ichigo took it as a sign to continue. Regaining some of her confidence, she said, "As I said, I would appreciate it very much if you gave me some advice on how to get closer to someone."

Zero Two considered Ichigo's words for a few moments, then said, "Well, if that's what you want, I need to know who they are, because it's different with every person."

Ichigo had been afraid that it would come to this. She knew that Zero Two enjoyed causing drama, especially with her actions during the boys vs. girls debacle from months ago, but a part of Ichigo also knew that Zero Two wouldn't betray trust in matters such as this. So, with another deep breath to calm the rapid beating of her heart, an embarrassed smile, and a thrilling jolt in her chest, she said, "It's Ikuno."

Zero Two simply stared at her for a beat, blinked twice, then all at once clapped her hands and laughed, startling Ichigo and causing her to yelp. "Finally! I was wondering when you'd finally show interest in her; she's wanted to be with you for so long, now."

Ichigo looked at Zero Two with wide eyes, "Wait, you already _knew?!_ "

Zero Two sat up and shifted so that she was cross-legged, all attempts at nonchalance dropped and forgotten. She said, "Ikuno follows you around like a quiet, sulky puppy whenever she doesn't have her nose buried in a book. You're telling me you've _never_ noticed the way she constantly glances at you; smiles whenever you enter the room or talk to her?"

Ichigo blushed again as she said, "Well, I mean…."

Zero Two continued, "I've known that she was interested in you ever since I licked her."

The memory of Zero Two licking Ikuno and subsequently stating for all to hear that she tasted 'a secret' flashed through Ichigo's mind. She remembered that Ikuno had looked horrified at the fact that Zero Two had hinted that she was keeping something from the rest of the squad. Now Ikuno's reaction made sense.

Zero Two gestured to Ichigo, "But _you_ ; what happened? I honestly thought Blond Boy had your heart."

Ichigo thought about her conversation with Goro earlier that morning. Getting her thoughts in order, she said, "About that…. I really do care about Goro, a lot. He's my best friend and he's always been there for me, and I love him, but just not like _that_. He's like...like…."

"Like family," Zero Two said softly, with a distant smile.

"Yeah," Ichigo responded with a small smile of her own.

After a while, Ichigo continued, "It's just, I don't want him to be sad, and the thought of him being alone makes me sad, too."

Zero Two nodded and responded, "I understand. But, as you said, Goro is a really nice guy; he won't be alone forever. I'm sure he'll find his Darling, and most likely sooner rather than later."

Ichigo smiled, as the thought of Goro happy with someone warmed her heart. Especially with the way he handled her rejection so well that morning, she really did feel as if Goro was like her big brother, rather than a potential 'Darling,' as Zero Two called it. He wanted Ichigo to be happy and find love, and she wanted the same for him.

Zero Two smiled. "You know, it took me a long time to understand what Hiro meant when he said he wanted to talk to me a lot and understand me better, but I finally realized that one of the most important parts of being with someone is getting to know them like the back of your own hand."

Ichigo nodded; she wanted to know Ikuno more, understand her better.

Zero Two continued, "And if all else fails, sometimes the only way to find out if someone is your true Darling is to kiss them."

At that, the memory of Ikuno's confession flashed through Ichigo's mind: _Ikuno, right there, face hovering just inches above hers, so close that each and every freckle stands out on her pale cheeks, framed by her loose hair. Before she continues with her desperate confession, Ichigo sees Ikuno's eyes flick momentarily to her lips, but then it appears as if she thinks better of it and instead tightly embraces Ichigo._

 _What if she had kissed me then? Would I have still turned her down? Still told her she was like I used to be; that I was a pain, too? Ikuno did say that she wouldn't take 'no' easily, though. So maybe she still wants to be with me?_

Shaking her head, Ichigo snapped out of her introspection, more certain than ever in her decision to pursue a potential relationship with Ikuno. Puffing her chest out and looking Zero Two in the eye, Ichigo declared, "I want to see what it would be like being with Ikuno and getting to know her better."

The pink-haired girl smiled and clapped her hands, then said, "In that case, my suggestion for getting to know her better would be to work it naturally into everyday activities. Chores are probably the best time to spend together, since that's pretty much what we do for a lot of the day, and if you have time for it, a date. It should be something romantic, like a starlit picnic, or maybe-"

She was interrupted by a blushing Ichigo's raised hand. ".…yes, Ichigo?" Zero Two asked, somewhat perplexed by Ichigo's behavior.

Any previous forcefulness left Ichigo as she blushed in embarrassment. She really did hate how easy it was to fluster her. She asked, "What is... what is a 'date?'"

Zero Two looked at her for a beat, and blinked. "A date," she began, speaking in the tone of someone explaining a new concept to a young child, "is when two people spend time with each other, doing something that helps them explore and solidify their relationship and their feelings for each other."

While Ichigo was thankful for the new information, she was still irritated by the seemingly-condescending manner in which Zero Two had just talked to her. Ichigo pouted and crossed her arms, looking away from the pink-haired girl, a reaction which really only served to validate Zero Two's tone of voice even more.

Rolling her eyes at first, Zero Two then reached over and placed a gentle hand on Ichigo's shoulder. Luckily, the blue-haired girl didn't try to shake her off. "I'm sorry, I should remember that all of you guys haven't had the same education and exposure to non-FranXX and Klaxosaur information as me. I shouldn't have talked to you like that."

Whether she was shocked because of Zero Two's candidness or the apology itself, Ichigo didn't know. But even so, she still patted the hand on her shoulder and responded, "thank you. And I shouldn't get so worked up every time you know something that I don't. So, I'm sorry, too."

They both looked at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Look at us," Zero Two managed to say through her laughter, "finally getting along."

Ichigo was still laughing as well when she responded, "I'm happy that we are, it's actually nice."

Eventually, they quieted down and fell into a comfortable silence. A few moments passed and the girls enjoyed the silence; especially Ichigo, relieved to have some good advice and a plan of action, and that it seemed she and Zero Two had truly and fully moved beyond their rocky past. Taking one last deep breath to resupply the oxygen spent on laughing, Ichigo said, "Thank you, Zero Two. I really mean it. Without talking to you, I'd still be hopelessly lost in all of this."

Zero Two smiled and, surprisingly, reached over to Ichigo and embraced her in a hug, which Ichigo reciprocated. After a moment, Zero Two settled back into her sitting position a moment later and said, "It was my pleasure. I'm always happy to help love bloom. Everyone deserves to find their Darling."

Ichigo bushed again. The ideas of 'loving' Ikuno and her being Ichigo's 'Darling' were so foreign to her that she couldn't help but feel embarrassed thinking about it. But for now, she would focus on just spending more time with the girl, and she had an idea for doing just that.

Ichigo began to rise from her spot at the edge of the bed, but was stopped by Zero Two's hand once again on her shoulder. Turning to her friend, she was struck by the gleam in the girl's eye that had not been present for the entirety of their conversation.

"Wait," Zero Two said in a serious voice, "there's one more thing."

Curious, Ichigo cocked an eyebrow and asked, "what is it?"

And suddenly, for the second time in as many days, Ichigo found herself pinned against a bed on her back by another girl. Zero Two's face was very close to her own, and Ichigo could feel her breath intermingling with Zero Two's. The horned-girl now had a predatory look on her face that frightened Ichigo, but also sent a confusing, thrilling feeling shooting through her body, culminating in a burning blush on her cheeks and rapid beating in her chest. She felt her breathing pick up, a stark contrast to Zero Two's slow, controlled inhalations. Then Zero Two leaned in and Ichigo didn't know how to react, so she just closed her eyes. Lips pressed against her own, drawing a small whimper out of the blue-haired girl.

Ichigo didn't push Zero Two off, didn't struggle or try to yell. She was too shocked to do so, and simply focused on Zero Two's gentleness, as if the girl wanted to make sure that Ichigo was still comfortable in this highly _uncomfortable_ situation - although, Zero Two didn't seem uncomfortable at all.

After six solid seconds, it was over. The pressure of Zero Two's grasp disappeared and she pulled away, leaving Ichigo a blushing, gasping mess on the bed.

A few moments later, Ichigo finally gathered herself enough to growl out, "What. Was. _That_."

Zero Two only grinned at the squad leader and responded, "Oh, just taking back something that wasn't yours."

Still blinking rapidly, Ichigo asked, "And what was that 'something,' huh?"

Smiling sweetly, Zero Two said, "I reclaimed the kisses you shared with my Darling. Now you have a clean slate!"

Ichigo blushed even more deeply than she already was, unable to formulate a response.

Zero Two flashed her a toothy grin and said, "Good luck!"

She winked.

And with that, Ichigo found herself pulled up and off of the bed by Zero Two, whom thankfully was still gentle with the girl and made sure that she was on-balance as she pushed her out of the room. The door shut behind Ichigo, and she heard Zero Two begin to hum a mindless tune, as if nothing had ever happened.

Ichigo didn't move. She stood there for the next few minutes, silently composing herself and trying to ignore the tingling feeling centered on her lips. Just as she reached two fingers up to touch them, Hiro rounded the corner.

"Oh hey, Ichigo, how's it going?" Noticing her blush, state of somewhat dishevelment, and the fact that she was holding a hand to her face, Hiro instantly began to worry that something bad had happened between Ichigo and Zero Two. He walked closer to her and asked in a caring voice, "Hey, is something wrong; did something happen?"

Startled, her mind still frazzled from what had just transpired, Ichigo shook her head twice and said a bit too loudly, "No!" Then she ran off, leaving Hiro alone in the hallway.

Perplexed, the boy eventually just shrugged his shoulders and entered his and Zero Two's room. Zero Two looked up from the storybook and greeted him, "Hi, Darling!"

"Hey, Zero Two," he replied. Still wondering about why his childhood friend had been standing outside of his room flushed and disheveled, Hiro asked, "Um, Zero Two, did something just happen with you and Ichigo?"

Zero Two gave him a bright smile and said, "Oh, nothing too important. She just needed some advice is all."

"Advice for what," Hiro asked.

"Don't worry about it, Darling," Zero Two responded sweetly. "You'll find out soon enough."

She smiled again, and Hiro simply nodded and smiled back, silently wondering what she meant.

* * *

Hours later, Ichigo laid on her bed, the only light coming through the window from the moon and stars shining through the cracks in Mistilteinn's dome. Lightly, she held two fingers to her lips, feeling where Zero Two had kissed her. It had been so sudden, so unexpected, and she hadn't had time to really reflect on it until now. It had been very different from the times she had kissed Hiro. That had comprised of their mouths being pressed together but not much else, and there hadn't been the _spark_ Hiro had seemed to be describing that he had had with Zero Two.

But with Zero Two, it wasn't quite a spark, but it was _something_. A warmth and tingling had spread over her whole face from the kiss, and Ichigo decided that it had felt good; she had liked it. She wondered to herself, _if it was that good, what would it be like with someone I love?_

Just then, the door to the bedroom opened and in walked Ikuno. Her hair hung down to the tops of her shoulders, loose from her typical butterfly clip. "Hey, Ichigo," she smiled and gave a small wave as she made her way to her bed.

"Hey, Ikuno," Ichigo smiled as she responded. She watched Ikuno climb into her own bed and pull the covers over her outstretched legs. Ikuno then placed her glasses on the nightstand near her bed and picked up a book, opening to somewhere in the middle. The pale light from outside angled perfectly to illuminate the pages of the book, and Ichigo noticed that the light also accentuated Ikuno's pale skin. She was captivating.

Ichigo felt herself blush, and was thankful that her side of the room was relatively dark, as she didn't want Ikuno to notice her pink cheeks. Mentally shaking herself, Ichigo wondered at the fact that she had begun to look at Ikuno in such a different way than she had just days prior. Questions that she had never had before suddenly began popping into her head: _What book is Ikuno reading? What's her favorite color? Does she like cats? What does she do when I'm not around?_ And most of all, _what would it be like if I spent more time with her; if I kissed her?_

Ichigo was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice that Ikuno had slightly closed her book, saving her spot by keeping one of her thumbs inserted between the pages. She looked over to the small girl surrounded by stuffed animals and asked, "Is everything all right, Ichigo? You look like you're thinking really hard about something."

Ichigo blushed again and shifted so that she was laying on her back, in an effort to hide her blush while not appearing suspicious. "Just thinking…about stuff." _What an answer_ , she thought to herself. If Ichigo really thought about it, the last several months had taught her that romantic feelings totally robbed her of any composure and the ability to clearly think. It was annoying.

But Ikuno just gave a soft chuckle and said, "It's okay, I understand if you don't want to talk to me about it." It sounded like she had expected that answer.

Ichigo feared that she had hurt Ikuno's feelings, which was the last thing she wanted, so she said, "No, no, it's not that I don't want to talk about it; it's just something I need to figure out on my own, you know?"

Ikuno flashed her another small smile and said, "I understand. I'm sure you'll figure it out, whatever it is; you always do."

Ichigo grabbed one of her teddy bears, Mr. Flufficans, and hugged him to her chest. She looked to her friend and whispered, "Thanks, Ikuno."

Ikuno nodded, then sighed as she placed a bookmark in her book and replaced it on the nightstand. She laid down and pulled the covers up to her shoulders and whispered, "Goodnight, Ichigo."

"Goodnight, Ikuno." Ichigo clutched her stuffed animal closer to herself as she thought about tomorrow morning and her plan to get to know Ikuno better. Eventually, she drifted off to sleep, dreaming of butterflies, cyan eyes, books, and a tingling on her lips.


	3. Chapter 3 - Welcome to Jurassic Park

The Garden: where all children were born and raised before they eventually went on to either become Parasites, or were cast aside and forgotten as failures. They lived cold and sterile lives, with authoritarian caretakers who supplied food and clean clothing, but none of the nurturing attention and love that the children really needed.

Code 196 typically stayed away from most of the other children, preferring to read educational books and avoid most interactions unless absolutely necessary. It wasn't that she was shy, she just didn't see the point in engaging in play or making 'friends.' If she could read and learn as much as she could, then she would become the best Parasite possible, and she would never be cast aside like so many of the other children.

And thus, she had spent her early days reading, learning, and only interacting with her peers when necessary. But one day, that all changed.

One of the special research subjects, Code 016, had been making waves amongst the children. Going against the orders of the adults, he had given himself a name other than his code designation: he called himself 'Hiro.' And he didn't stop there; Hiro gave the rest of the children names, too. He began with his closest friends, then moved on to the other children, until he had named almost everyone he met at the Garden.

Code 196 had taken no interest in this boy's shenanigans, as she figured that the adults would eventually whisk him away for defying their orders and he would never be seen again. She kept her distance from him, just as she did with the other children. Because of this, she was one of the last children to receive a name from the child-idol.

Sitting in her usual corner, reading a book about tactics employed by FranXX pilots in encounters with various classes of klaxosaurs, Code 196 was surprised when a shadow fell across the words on the page she had been examining. Looking up, she saw that Code 016 – Hiro – stood just a few feet from her. Feeling that there was no reason to engage with him, she merely sat and stared back at him, waiting for him to say his piece.

Smiling a wide, innocent smile, Hiro placed several large cards on the ground in front of her; after a moment, she realized that the cards spelled out her code: 196. He pointed first to them, and then to her, as he cheerfully said, "Your name is now Ikuro!" And without another word, he happily skipped off – in her mind, she assumed to bother another child with his quest for a level of independence.

She sighed. Honestly, she was fine with her original designation. Names were annoying and hard to remember, whereas codes were easy. They provided a sense of order and normalcy. She scoffed: _'Ikuro!' What a terrible name, anyway_. She shook her head, then went back to reading her book.

Almost immediately however, another, higher voice called out to her. "Hi!" a sweet, bubbly voice said.

Despite her annoyance at being yet again interrupted, Code 196 looked up, seeing that now… now the most _beautiful_ girl she had ever seen stood before her. She was small in stature and had short, light blue hair. Her eyes were a bright, shining emerald – similar to 196's own – and the girl smiled a bright smile that made the strangest feeling take root in 196's chest. The girl clutched a teddy bear tightly to her chest, and the sight was the cutest thing 196 had ever seen. In summary, she was dumbstruck. She wanted to reply to the girl's greeting, to say something, _anything_ , but she couldn't do it; her mind stuttered and failed to form coherent thoughts at the beautiful angel standing just feet away.

The girl looked down at the cards Hiro had left at 196's feet and frowned. 196 didn't like it when the girl frowned; she wanted her to smile again, to be happy. The girl made a thoughtful face, then turned one of the cards clockwise. She smiled again, and 196's heart soared at the sight.

"Your name is now Ikuno!" the girl proclaimed. "Like it?" she asked, still smiling that adorable smile of hers.

Still unable to formulate a verbal response, 196 – Ikuno – slowly nodded.

The girl flashed her brightest smile yet and said, "Great! My name is Ichigo, nice to meet you!" And she held out one of her hands, extending it towards Ikuno.

After a brief moment of confusion in regards to how she should respond, Ikuno reached out and took Ichigo's hand. The child smiled at her, and for the first time in her life, Ikuno smiled back.

* * *

Slowly, Ikuno rose in consciousness. The Garden fell away, replaced with her bed in the boarding house in Mistilteinn. The early-morning rays of sunlight shined in through the bedroom's window, illuminating everything in a warm, golden light.

Still laying down, she rolled over onto her side, looking to her roommate, Ichigo. Ikuno smiled, thinking about her dream. She had it every so often; maybe once or twice a month, and it was one of her most precious memories. Ichigo had given Ikuno her name, and had captured Ikuno's heart in the process. Even now, after she had finally, _finally_ confessed her feelings to her friend; after Ichigo had turned her down, Ikuno couldn't help it: as she watched her friend softly inhale, still sound asleep, she thought to herself, _if only, if only_.

Sighing, Ikuno sat up. She rubbed her eyes, stretched, and put on her glasses before slipping out of her bed to get ready for the day. Just as she completed her outfit with her signature butterfly-hairclip, she heard a whimper from behind her. Turning to face Ichigo, Ikuno saw that her blue-haired friend now had a scrunched-up look on her face. The girl whimpered again, then pushed out with one of her arms. The teddy bear she had been clutching, Mr. Flufficans (without really meaning to, Ikuno had memorized the names of all of Ichigo's stuffed animals, because of course she had) fell off of the bed and onto the ground.

Ikuno bent down and picked up the bear, then placed it gently against Ichigo's chest. Instinctively, the sleeping girl immediately folded her arms around the bear, entrapping Ikuno's hand in the process. Ikuno blushed at the fact that the girl she loved was now hugging her hand so tightly. But then Ichigo whimpered again and that troubled look returned to her face. A familiar feeling struck Ikuno's chest, and with her free hand, she gently brushed one of Ichigo's bangs behind her ear. Ikuno then began to stroke her hair, hoping to have a calming effect.

After several moments, Ichigo's face took on the look of serenity that she only got when she slept, and her grip on Ikuno's forearm relaxed. Carefully extricating her appendage, Ikuno smiled at the sight of the sleeping girl. No one had the privilege of seeing Ichigo like this; so small and vulnerable, except for Ikuno. She ran her hand along Ichigo's soft hair one last time, then turned and made her way out of the room to finish getting ready for the day to come.

* * *

While Futoshi, Miku, and Zorome prepared a breakfast consisting of rations, freshly-baked bread, and the fish caught earlier that morning by Goro, Hiro, and Zero Two, the Parasites not in charge of cooking breakfast milled about the common room, eagerly awaiting the delicious meal to come.

Ikuno sat on one of the small sofas, reading one of the few books she had smuggled in from the beachside town that Squad 13 had explored all those months prior. She had wandered into a small building with a sign so heavily damaged that it had been unreadable, but Ikuno would recognize the shapes of the books inside anywhere. She had sifted through many piles of torn and water-logged tomes, most of which were in just as bad – if not worse – of a condition as the sign outside. But in the back of the small building, in some boxes, were books that were relatively undamaged. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to sneak many back to Mistilteinn, Ikuno had grabbed just a few of the most interesting looking ones. Part of her had feared the potential reprisal she would suffer if anyone found out what she had done, but she had felt that the lost knowledge of the past was worth the risk. She hadn't had much time to read them, however, and had only begun to do so following Squad 13's relative isolation from the outside.

Glancing at her squad mates in the room around her, Ikuno wasn't afraid of the other Parasites noticing that she held a forbidden relic, as they had never taken an interest in her books in the past.

Currently, she was reading a book titled _Jurassic Park_ by someone named Michael Crichton. Honestly, she had grabbed it mostly for the skeletal creature on the cover, figuring that it might have had something to do with klaxosaurs. But alas, it had not. So far, the story had focused on creatures called dinosaurs, which appeared to have no connection whatsoever to klaxosaurs, and humanity's folly in trying to recreate and control the prehistoric creatures.

Ikuno found the story to be extremely interesting. Not only was it a window into the distant past, where humanity had yet to be forced to live in plantations on a mostly-dead Earth, but the story also navigated numerous moral issues regarding humanity, logic, and the inherent disorder within the illusion of order. While Ikuno didn't understand some of the language or references, she understood enough that the story made sense.

One of the most poignant points so far was a quote from her favorite character, Dr. Ian Malcolm: In short, 'Life finds a way.' No matter what barriers are put in place, natural order – or chaos, depending on how one looked at it – always broke free and restored itself.

Within a population of all-female dinosaurs, they still managed to mate and reproduce, with some becoming male in order to do so. While the Parasites were indeed not dinosaurs, Ikuno sympathized with the idea that females could reproduce together and leave something behind for the future, as Kokoro had talked about on the day of the incident with the Nines.

Ikuno had told Ichigo that she wished she was a boy, after all. _If not to reproduce, then for her to look at me the way she used to look at Hiro._

She gave a low sigh, then went back to reading. Right now, she wanted to find out if Dr. Malcolm and the rest of the surviving characters made it out of the chaotic failure that was John Hammond's Jurassic Park. And just as one of the Tyrannosaurs made a reappearance in the story, Ikuno noticed that a certain blue-haired girl had appeared downstairs, joining the rest of the squad. Years of practice allowed Ikuno to observe her friend while appearing wholly focused on her book.

Ichigo bounded over to Goro, excitedly bouncing on her feet as she talked to him. He stood there calmly, smiling as she spoke and nodding or replying every so often. At one point, Ichigo said something as she glanced over at Hiro and Zero Two, and when Goro responded, they both fell into a fit of laughter.

Sighing, Ikuno decided to look away. She had figured that Ichigo had fallen for Goro. It made sense; he was smart, caring, and kind, and he and Ichigo had been extremely close since their time in the Garden. While the fact that it wasn't Ikuno standing there talking, laughing, and being _with_ Ichigo still sent a shock of utter disappointment and loneliness through her heart, Ikuno found consolation in the fact that Ichigo was happy. Seeing her friend smile so widely and laugh so brightly, Ikuno couldn't help but smile a small smile to herself, hidden behind her book. Ichigo was happy, and in the end, that was what mattered.

* * *

After everyone had mostly finished eating, Ichigo stood at her spot at the head of the table and addressed the squad, "All right, everyone. First off, I would like to thank Futoshi, Miku, and Zorome for an especially delicious breakfast."

Everyone nodded and thanked the three cooks as well. Through a mouthful of bread, Futoshi smiled with a slight blush at the recognition; Miku flashed a smug smile and nodded; and Zorome jumped up on his chair and struck what Ikuno assumed he thought were heroic poses. Everyone laughed at the hyperactive boy's antics, which only added to the group's jovial mood.

Ichigo chuckled and, after a few moments, motioned to regain everyone's attention. "Okay," she said, "next, I want to address today's chores. There has been a change in weekly responsibilities, as I think that it would be beneficial for everyone to do something new, so that we are all more well-rounded when it comes to our knowledge of necessary skills for survival."

Intrigued, Ikuno raised an eyebrow as she watched and listened to her friend. Ichigo pulled out a notepad and a pencil, then began to list the new responsibilities of each Parasite. "On fishing duty for this week will be Futoshi, Miku, and Zorome." Ichigo glanced at the three people in question and addressed them, "Don't worry, guys. I'll have Goro teach you so that you know what you're doing. It only took him a few minutes to teach me, so it shouldn't be too difficult." She looked to Goro and smiled, and he gave a bashful smile back as he readjusted his glasses and a slight flush crept up on his cheeks.

Ikuno had to suppress a scowl. _I guess they've been spending more time together than I thought_ , she thought to herself. Almost immediately however, she mentally shook herself. _Ichigo's happy, and that's what matters_ , she repeated. But it still didn't make it hurt any less.

Ichigo glanced at her list again, then continued speaking, "On laundry duty will be Kokoro, Hiro, and Zero Two." Kokoro simply smiled a sweet smile in acknowledgement, while Hiro and Zero Two nodded in unison, then went back to cuddling each other in their shared chair. Watching them for a few moments, Ikuno couldn't help but feel slightly envious of the two lovers' closeness. Then Zero Two shoved a honey-coated piece of fish into Hiro's mouth and Ikuno felt decidedly _less_ envious.

"On cooking duty are Goro and Mitsuru." Both boys looked to each other and nodded.

"And last but not least, general cleaning duty falls to me and Ikuno." Ikuno thought she saw a very slight blush color Ichigo's cheeks as she made the final portion of the announcement, but for what reason, Ikuno had no clue. So, she simply gave a small smile and nodded in acknowledgement, just like everyone else had. Of course, Ikuno was undeniably happy that she would be getting to spend more time than usual with Ichigo this week.

The girl in question cleared her throat before adding, "of course, all other duties which require special skillsets, such as management of the water filtration system, will remain the responsibilities of those who already perform them." Hiro and Mitsuru nodded. "And this change in duties doesn't mean you can't still partake in your favorite pastimes, such as fishing." She glanced pointedly at Goro, who nodded in thanks.

Ichigo concluded with a clap as she said, "All right everyone, let's do it, then!" Everyone stood from the table and said some form of acknowledgement, then went off to perform their individual duties.

Since fishing had already been done for the day, Futoshi, Miku, and Zorome moved off to the side to entertain themselves. Ikuno saw that it looked like Miku and Zorome were already arguing about yet another triviality, and Futoshi was trying and failing to intercede. _Honestly_ , Ikuno thought to herself, _those two just need to get it over with and kiss already_. She shook her head as she watched for only a moment longer as Miku and Zorome argued about which of the two of them was better at arguing.

Then a voice right next to her said sweetly, "Hey, Ikuno."

Looking to her side at Ichigo, Ikuno flashed the smile she reserved only for her blue-haired friend, and responded, "Hey, Ichigo." Glancing at their surroundings, she asked, "So, what's our first stop for cleaning duty?"

Ichigo looked behind them at the table that the squad had been using for meals. Gesturing to the numerous plates and utensils left behind, Ichigo said, "First, we're going to clean all of this up."

Ikuno nodded, then went to the table and began to pile up plates to bring to the kitchen to clean. Ichigo did the same, and it wasn't long before they had brought all of the plates and utensils into the kitchen. While they couldn't use the faucet for water, as the internal water systems had been damaged in the battle prior to Squad 13's general isolation, they had a large basin filled with water suitable for cleaning.

Ikuno stood side-by-side with Ichigo as they both used sponges to soap up and wash the assorted dishes and eating utensils. Ikuno felt that she should say something for the sake of conversation, but every time she thought she had a possible avenue of discussion, it took one glance at Ichigo for it to disappear. Even after all of these years, being this close to Ichigo flustered Ikuno.

Ichigo herself was unusually quiet, seeming extremely focused on the plates she was scrubbing. At one point, their hands brushed as they both reached for the final plate to clean. A flush colored both of their cheeks as they both began to insist that they would clean it, then they both began to laugh.

Ikuno thought she would try to be 'cool' as she said, "Hey, it's less work for me; go ahead." But then she realized what it might sound like, and she immediately followed with, "not that I don't want to pull my weight or anything!"

Ichigo giggled in response, and Ikuno thought she would literally die because of the cuteness. Then, before Ikuno could react, Ichigo quickly reached over, grabbed the plate, and began to clean it. Ichigo stuck her tongue out at Ikuno playfully as she finished cleaning it, and Ikuno smiled and chuckled in response.

After placing the dishes in a rack to finish drying, they both moved on to the other portion of cleaning duty, which entailed dusting and making everyone's beds. This part of the cleaning was more tedious and time-consuming, so for the first thirty minutes or so of cleaning rooms, neither girl said much to the other.

Eventually, Ichigo finally spoke up and asked, "Hey, Ikuno, I was wondering, what book are you reading right now?" Currently, they were in Goro and Mitsuru's room – Mitsuru had moved in after Hiro had started sleeping in Zero Two's room, taking advantage of the newly available space and the opportunity to get away from Futoshi and Zorome.

Surprised at her friend's interest in what she had been reading, Ikuno debated with herself for only a moment before she decided to tell Ichigo about the books she had taken from the beachside town.

Ichigo didn't seem to disapprove of the fact that Ikuno had taken the books, for which Ikuno was thankful. So, Ikuno proceeded to go over the general plotline of the portion of _Jurassic Park_ she had read thus far, and she watched as Ichigo slowed to a halt in her cleaning as she intently listened to Ikuno's description.

At one point, Ichigo said aloud what Ikuno had originally wondered when she had first started reading the book, "'Dinosaurs'…'saurs'…klaxosaurs? Does the book say anything about dinosaurs and klaxosaurs being related?"

Ikuno put down the pillow she had been fluffing and said, "No, I didn't see anything that indicated a connection between them." She thought for a moment then said, "Although, I did find an encyclopedia about dinosaurs in our library room. They lived tens of millions of years ago, before humankind, and were the dominant lifeform in their time. They came in all shapes in sizes, too. Some ate plants, others ate the plant-eaters, and others ate both plants and meat." Ikuno went on to explain some additional information regarding prehistoric life, enjoying the attention Ichigo was giving her.

Ichigo stared at Ikuno with wide eyes, seemingly enthralled in Ikuno's impromptu lesson on prehistoric life. Ichigo had no idea that reptilian beasts had ruled the Earth before humans even existed.

Thinking about the plotline of _Jurassic Park_ , Ichigo asked, "So was it real? Did this 'John Hammond' guy really make Jurassic Park?"

Ikuno shook her head, "No, I think it was just a story; it's not written like the history books or encyclopedias we have, so I think the book is more meant for entertainment and teaching some sort of lesson more than anything else."

"Oh," Ichigo said with a slight flush, feeling silly that she had thought it was real.

Seeing her reaction, Ikuno smiled reassuringly and said, "But who knows? It's a book from so long ago, so it could have happened. Personally, I think that either way, it's a good story."

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, it sounds really interesting." She looked away for a moment, and that light blush crept back onto her cheeks.

 _She really has been blushing a lot more, recently_ , Ikuno thought to herself. While she of course wished that it was the blush of a girl talking to someone they loved in a special way, Ikuno knew that Ichigo was most likely blushing because of her level of inexperience with this subject matter and her need to ask numerous questions.

They went back to cleaning, and it wasn't until they made it to the final room that Ichigo spoke again. "Hey, Ikuno?"

Ikuno made a soft "hm?" noise as she made Miku's bed.

"Do you think…would I be able to borrow that book from you to read, later?" Ichigo asked, seemingly nervous about what Ikuno's response would be.

Excited at the prospect of having something to talk about in-depth with Ichigo, Ikuno had to stop herself from sounding too excited as she said, "Sure! I'm almost at the end of the book, so I'll give it to you later tonight. I would love to hear what you think."

She smiled at Ichigo, who smiled back and said, "Thanks, Ikuno. I'm looking forward to it!"

Ikuno nodded, then both girls returned to cleaning, focused on finishing so that they could go off to enjoy the rest of the day.


	4. Chapter 4 - A Story Shared

Ikuno made sure to finish reading _Jurassic Park_ after she and Ichigo completed their chores. She had to slow herself down as she read the final chapters, as she had begun to speed through what was left so that she could give the book to Ichigo.

Once Ikuno finally closed the book, she had to take some time to process everything that had happened within those pages. She was glad that most of the protagonists made it out alive, and enjoyed how the book had an open ending.

But, she was haunted by the death of Dr. Malcolm; he was the representation of logical thinking and moral questioning, essentially the teacher of the moral and thematic lessons of the book. His death was the culmination of everything wrong with Jurassic Park: humanity's attempt at a level of control and power that should have remained thoroughly out of its reach would only lead to the destruction of everyone, innocents included.

In the end, Malcolm's prophecy had come true: nature had broken free, and the ensuing chaos had been uncontrollable. Crichton taught his lessons well. It was a very good book, and Ikuno was glad that she had saved it from that derelict building by the ocean.

With all of that, however, she couldn't help but feel a nagging thought at the back of her mind, like she was missing something. Something important. She opened the book again and flipped through the pages, then began to reread a portion of the confrontation between some of the protagonists and the velociraptors in the laboratory near the end of the book. As she looked at the words on the page, she felt as if there was something staring her in the face, and she for the life of her could not decipher what it was.

After a few minutes of unfruitful reflection, Ikuno heaved an exasperated sigh and placed the book on her nightstand. She momentarily removed her glasses and massaged the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger.

At the sound of a commotion outside, Ikuno stood and walked over to her window to investigate. Looking down on the courtyard, she saw that some of the other Parasites were setting up the dining table for dinner. After watching them go about the task for a few moments longer, Ikuno turned from the window and went to join them.

* * *

Ikuno hesitantly took her spoon and scooped some of the whiteish-grayish liquid off of her plate and, with a fearful gulp, inserted it into her mouth.

Goro and Mitsuru had prepared some kind of goop with canned-meat and bread mixed in. When they had placed a collective pot of the stuff on the table, they had said that it was a recipe they found in one of the cookbooks called 'biscuits and gravy.' It was easy enough to make with the ingredients they had, and the boys figured they would go for something that they could make a lot of with few ingredients for maximum efficiency.

As Ikuno let the flavors of the stuff wash over her taste buds, she decided that even though the meal looked absolutely disgusting, it was _delicious_. She ate it slowly however, and had made it about halfway through her plate when Ichigo turned to her and asked what she thought of the meal.

Ichigo sat at her usual spot at the head of the table, while Ikuno, who normally sat in the middle of the table between Miku and Kokoro, currently sat to Ichigo's right. When she had come down for dinner, Ichigo had already been there. The blue-haired girl had indicated the seat to her right with a smile, and Ikuno happily obliged.

While she had been eating, Ikuno thought about the fact that Ichigo had suddenly spent a much larger portion of time with her today as compared to pretty much any other day Ikuno could remember, and she wondered why. Of course, they were on cleaning duty together for the week, but Ichigo _had_ been the one to willingly partner herself with Ikuno. As always, that small ember of hope fluttered in her chest, but then she reminded herself that that wasn't a possibility. Ichigo had turned her down, and that was that. _She also has Goro_ , Ikuno thought to herself.

Finally, in response to Ichigo's question, Ikuno said, "It's actually really good; I'm surprised." Noticing the mock glare Mitsuru shot her from his spot next to Kokoro, Ikuno rolled her eyes and said somewhat sarcastically to her former partner, "Not that I ever doubted you, Mitsuru." He just rolled his eyes in response. Looking to Goro, she quickly added sincerely, "Thank you, both of you, for cooking." The rest of the squad echoed her sentiments with either affirmative nods or said some form of 'thank you' around mouthfuls of food.

Ichigo flashed a smile at Ikuno, then went back to eating. It was then that Ikuno noticed that Ichigo had a little bit of the goop on her cheek. She chuckled and said, "Ichigo, you have a little bit of…" she gestured with one of her index fingers at her own cheek, indicating where the food would be.

Ichigo took a second to understand what Ikuno meant, but once she did, she smiled ruefully as, with an adorable blush, she picked up her napkin and tried to wipe off the offending substance.

After wiping exactly everywhere but the spot, Ikuno chuckled again and said, "Here, let me." Ichigo mock-pouted as she handed Ikuno her napkin, which Ikuno thought was decidedly adorable. She leaned in and gently cupped Ichigo's chin with one hand in order to hold her steady as, with her other hand, she slowly and expertly removed the food.

And it was at this point that Ikuno realized just how intimately she was holding Ichigo's face. Her emerald gaze slid up from the girl's cheek to lock with Ichigo's eyes, mirroring her own in color. Ichigo looked stunned, flushed and as if she were waiting for Ikuno to do something. It felt as if time held still, and Ikuno couldn't help but lose herself in those bright, shining irises. Her breath caught, and everything felt muted except for that beautiful face inches from her own. If only she could just lean in and-

"Uhhhh, guys?" Hiro was looking at them curiously, wondering why the two girls were staring at each other so intensely.

Almost immediately, Zero Two – who had been silently and excitedly watching the girls as well – bopped him softly on the back of the head and gave him a look that said, ' _What's wrong with you?! They were finally having their moment! How do you not realize that, Darling, with the way_ we _look at each other!_ '

But it was too late; the spell was broken. Instantly both girls pulled away from each other; Ikuno made herself cough in an effort to cover up her embarrassment, while Ichigo looked the other way with a crimson blush. Both girls faced opposite ways, and thus neither saw how the other reacted. Had Ikuno seen that blush on Ichigo's face, she might have begun to suspect that something she had longed for was now the same thing that Ichigo longed for, as well. Alas, it was not to be, and instead both girls elected to finish their meals in awkward silence.

Luckily, the other members of the squad had been either too distracted or wrapped up in their own conversations to take notice of the incident, and they each left the table as they finished their meals, sated and content.

Eventually, Ikuno, Ichigo, Zero Two, and Hiro were the only ones left at the table. As the two lovebirds got up to leave, Zero Two momentarily left Hiro's side and sashayed over to Ichigo. The horned-girl leaned in and whispered something to the squad leader, too quietly for Ikuno to hear. As the girl spoke, Ichigo's face regained the fierce blush it had featured earlier, and she quickly turned to glare at Zero Two. The pink-haired girl laughed as she went to rejoin Hiro, saying over her shoulder, "I'm just saying!" And then the two were off, holding hands and being their disgustingly lovey-dovey selves.

Ikuno shook her head at Zero Two's antics, then turned to the now slightly-less-red Ichigo sitting next to her. Cocking an inquisitive eyebrow, she nodded at the direction in which the two had gone off and asked, "What was that all about?"

Ichigo just shook her head slowly in regret as she said, "I went to her for advice; I think it was probably a mistake."

 _She went to her for advice?_ Ikuno wondered what kind of advice Ichigo would have needed that she had ended up having to go to _Zero Two_ of all people. Curious, she asked, "Advice for what?"

Ichigo hesitated in her response, scratching the back of her neck as she said, "Uh…well…I needed…" she didn't want to yet again provide a non-answer to one of Ikuno's questions, so she settled for _vague_ , "…relationship advice."

Internally, Ikuno sighed. _Ah_. She saw it now; Ichigo had probably gone to Zero Two for advice on boys, so that she had a better idea of how her burgeoning relationship with Goro should be, and now Zero Two was taking advantage of the situation to tease Ichigo.

Even though the teasing centered on Goro, it still irked Ikuno that Zero Two would cause grief for the squad leader; _for my friend._ But still, Ikuno would only do something about it if it continued, as she didn't want to cause any unnecessary drama. That had always been her _modus operandi;_ fade into the background, observe from afar, and only contribute whenever and wherever it was necessary. Like when she had slapped Nine-Alpha.

For now, she would try to comfort her friend.

Refocusing, Ikuno realized that she had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed Ichigo get up and begin to gather everyone's dirty dishes and eating utensils to clean. Forgetting her worries for the moment, Ikuno smoothly slid out of her seat and quickly set to helping Ichigo with the task, and soon both girls were in the kitchen again, performing the same duty they had done that morning after breakfast.

As Ikuno scrubbed a plate, she fell back into her train of thought from before. She felt that she had to show Ichigo some support in light of Zero Two's teasing, so – as much as it pained her – Ikuno said with a slight blush, "You know, Ichigo… I do support your choice of partner."

Ichigo gave her a quizzical look before saying, "Who, Goro?"

Ikuno nodded as she barely succeeded to fight off a grimace, "Yes, Goro. He's probably the best match for you."

Ichigo smiled sweetly as she responded, "Absolutely! Out of all of the stamens, he and I have always had the strongest connection." She placed a plate into the dishrack before continuing, "I can't imagine piloting with Futoshi, Mitsuru, or Zorome, and as we all know, Hiro can only pilot with Zero Two."

Now confused at the direction of Ichigo's answer, Ikuno slowly nodded and said, "Right, but I didn't mean as a FranXX copilot, I meant as…" she felt a pang in her chest and she couldn't say it, so she settled on, "…as, well, you know." Her hands currently empty, Ikuno made vague gestures, unsure of how to indicate what she meant without using words.

Still with that innocent look in her eyes, Ichigo said, "What do you mean, Ikuno?"

 _She's really going to make me say it, isn't she?_ Ikuno sighed; it was time to bite the bullet, "I think that he's a good choice for you to be in a relationship with." Internally, Ikuno cringed. She had wanted to support Ichigo, but now she wished she hadn't said anything at all.

She decided to sneak a glance at the girl next to her, and watched as Ichigo quietly mouthed to herself, "in a relationship with…with Goro?" Her eyes widened and she turned to Ikuno, both girls now giving each other their full attention, dishes forgotten. Ichigo shook her head vigorously as she said, "Oh, no, it's not like that! Goro and I are just friends! Really, really good friends, but just friends!"

 _What?!_ Ikuno almost didn't believe it; all this time, she had thought that Ichigo had turned her down because – well, A: because she wasn't a boy – and B: because Ichigo's heart belonged to Goro, the next most likely choice for her after it became obvious that she had no chance with Hiro.

But now, now that Ikuno knew Ichigo _wasn't_ with Goro… _Okay, okay. Calm down, Ikuno, you don't know the whole situation, she might be with one of the other stamens._ She cringed internally again however, as the only two boys not currently in a relationship, and excluding Goro, were Futoshi and Zorome. _Ichigo just_ can't _be with either of those weirdos_ , Ikuno thought to herself. Zorome could be an immature jerk, and Futoshi…well, his two greatest loves in life were bread and Kokoro. And since the boy couldn't have Kokoro, he had a _lot_ of bread.

From their partnership piloting Chlorophytum, Ikuno had seen into Futoshi's mind, and the boy truly did love his baked goods. While Ikuno was happy that Futoshi had gotten over his brief bout of refusing to eat, and she knew that the boy meant well, she – and the rest of the squad, for that matter – knew that he tended to be a little excessive in his displays of affection. As far as she knew, Futoshi still only had eyes for Kokoro, which left only…. _Oh, please no, this doesn't mean…._

Trying not to panic, Ikuno said, "So if you're not with Goro, _are_ you with someone?" She couldn't even bring herself to say Zorome's name; if Ichigo admitted that she was even just _interested_ in the boy, Ikuno thought she might throw up. Then she realized that she might be invading Ichigo's privacy, so she quickly added, "Only tell me if you feel comfortable, though; I don't mean to pry!" She held both hands up in front of her, palms facing outwards to emphasize her point.

Ichigo looked away, a blush creeping back onto her features. If Ikuno hadn't been so worried about the answer to her question, she would have stopped and admired how Ichigo's face adorably reminded her of a strawberry.

After a few quiet moments, Ichigo blushed even more deeply as she quietly said, "No, I'm not with anyone right now."

"Oh. Okay." Ikuno's answer was quiet as well, but internally it was another story: her heart absolutely _soared_. She knew that it meant nothing and that Ichigo had already turned her down, but even so…the fact that Ichigo wasn't with any of the other stamens, not even Goro, who would have arguably been a great match for the girl; that meant that – well, it didn't mean _anything_ , per se, besides that Ichigo was single. But no matter how hard she tried to control herself, for the first time in a while, Ikuno felt that ember of pure _hope_ spread its warmth throughout her entire body.

Not wanting to make the girl next to her any more uncomfortable than she already appeared to be however, Ikuno decided that it was the perfect time to change the subject. Trying and failing to keep herself from smiling, she picked up another plate to scrub as she said, "Hey, by the way, I finished the book, so if you want, I can give it to you after this."

She looked to Ichigo and flashed her a bright smile, and she saw Ichigo's shoulders visibly relax and a slight sigh leave the girl's lips before Ichigo gave a small smile of her own and responded, "Great; I'm excited to read it!"

A few minutes later, they finished scrubbing the last couple of plates and eating utensils. After making sure that they were all properly placed in the dishrack to dry, the girls made their way to their room. As they walked, Ichigo asked, "So, can you tell me what you thought of the book?" She giggled before adding, "Without spoiling the ending, of course!" Apparently, she had fully recovered from her embarrassment from earlier, much to Ikuno's relief.

Ikuno chuckled, then said, "Well, I can say that it definitely was very well-written, and the author did an excellent job weaving the moral lessons he wanted to teach into the story." She noticed the way Ichigo was giving her that look of undivided attention again, and Ikuno _loved_ it. Concluding her short review, Ikuno said, "And as for the ending…all I'll say is that it was surprising."

Ichigo said, "Oh, it sounds exciting!" And both girls shared a small laugh.

Once they reached their room, Ikuno held the door open for Ichigo and gave a mock bow, which elicited a cute giggle from Ichigo and a nod in thanks as she entered. Ikuno watched as Ichigo lit a couple of candles on the windowsill for light, as their electricity was unreliable and prone to shutting off every few minutes. Then the girl flopped backwards onto her bed, her stuffed animals bouncing slightly from the impact. As always, the cuteness threatened to spell Ikuno's end.

Smiling and shaking her head, she walked over to her nightstand and picked up _Jurassic Park_. Looking at the skeletal dinosaur adorning the cover of the book, Ikuno felt that sense of unease from before well up again. She knew there was something she wasn't seeing, and she knew it was important.

She shook her head; if it wasn't coming to her now, it would either come to her later, or not at all. So, with a smile, she turned to Ichigo and held the book out to her. "Here you go, take your time and I hope you enjoy it."

Ichigo smiled as she said, "Thanks, Ikuno. I'll start reading it right away!"

Ikuno began to chuckle, but it quickly turned to a yawn and she realized just how tired she felt. Taking a moment to watch Ichigo, who had opened to the first page of the book and already had a concentrated look on her face, Ikuno smiled warmly. She said quietly, "I'm going to get ready for bed, okay?"

Ichigo nodded, not taking her eyes off of the page. She was already enthralled. Ikuno smiled again; it had been the same for her. When she had first picked up the book, she hadn't been able to put it back down for three hours, and it had only taken her two days to finish the whole thing. Taking one last look at the small girl holding the book in one hand and idly stroking a stuffed animal with the other, Ikuno felt a soft warmth settle in her chest as she turned and went to get ready for bed.

When she eventually came back, Ichigo was still reading. As Ikuno reentered the room, Ichigo looked up and said with an incredulous look on her face, "Ikuno, I wonder if this is really what the adults were like in the old days! Everything was so different!"

Ikuno nodded; it had taken her some time to adjust to the way the characters behaved and how – as Ichigo had so aptly put it – 'different' everything was from how things were now. This was a story from an age before the Earth had died; before klaxosaurs had become a threat and before Papa had to create the plantations to protect everyone. But it was a window into the past, and that was both amazing and invaluable.

So, Ikuno nodded in response to Ichigo, then said, "It was weird at first, but you get used to it." Thinking some more, she added, "And there will be plenty of references that probably won't make sense, but the author explains enough that it should be understandable."

Ichigo nodded and said, "Yeah, I was going to ask." She looked away in thought, then her gaze returned to Ikuno and she said, "I wonder what the children were like, back then."

Thinking of the two young children in the book, Ikuno immediately thought to herself, _annoying and mean, but resourceful_. Aloud, she simply said with a slight smile, "You'll see."

Ichigo let out an excited, "Oh!" as she quickly glanced at the page she had been on before looking back to Ikuno.

Seeing that she obviously wanted to continue reading, Ikuno slipped into her bed and pulled the covers over her legs. Before she laid down, she chuckled and said jovially, "Goodnight, Ichigo. Don't stay up too late reading; we still have cleaning duty tomorrow and I don't want to have to pick up your slack."

Ichigo blushed as she said, "I-I won't, I promise!" At Ikuno's raised eyebrows and mock-disbelieving look, Ichigo insisted, "Really!"

Ikuno jokingly rolled her eyes as she said, "If you say so, squad leader." Then she sighed contentedly as she laid down and settled into a comfortable sleeping position. She faced the wall, away from the candlelight and thus, away from Ichigo. She said, "Goodnight, Ichigo."

The blue-haired girl whispered a quiet, "Goodnight, Ikuno," to her back, then returned to the book.

* * *

The next morning, Ikuno awoke from a peaceful slumber to the sun shining in through the window and the sounds of birds singing. She sat up and stretched, feeling refreshed. Looking over to Ichigo, Ikuno saw that she had at some point gotten ready for bed, and she still had one hand half-holding the book currently laying on her small chest, open to the halfway-point.

Ikuno smiled and shook her head. _She must have ended up staying up reading for a long time, after all._

Then she got out of bed, stretching a little more and feeling satisfying pops all along her back. Ikuno left to get ready for the day to come, and when she came back, Ichigo was just waking up.

Still laying down, her hair splayed around her head on her pillow, Ichigo looked to her sleepily, but still managed a smile as she croaked, "G'mrnin, Ik'no'"

Ikuno smiled and giggled at the girl, then said, "Good morning, Ichigo." She sat down on the edge of Ichigo's bed, and the girl reached out to her, gesturing for her to pull her up. Rolling her eyes, Ikuno grasped Ichigo's hands – Ikuno couldn't believe how soft and delicate they were – and pulled the girl up. She hadn't accounted for how easily Ichigo could be moved, and the blue-haired girl ended up flopping against Ikuno, now laying forward against her body, head resting on Ikuno's shoulder. Ikuno blushed as she realized that she was essentially holding and embracing Ichigo, and the smaller girl seemed to be paying it no mind. Then she heard a soft snore, and realized that Ichigo must have been delirious and only momentarily awake.

 _Yes, that's what it must have been_.

Ikuno gently laid the girl back down and pressed a stuffed bear against Ichigo's chest, who immediately wrapped her arms around the animal and snuggled even more deeply into her bed. Watching the girl sleep for a moment, Ikuno reached out and gently stroked Ichigo's hair for a couple of seconds, and thought she saw a small smile appear on the girl's lips. But just as suddenly, it was gone, and Ikuno figured that she was just seeing what she wanted to see.

Finally, Ikuno stood up from the bed. She picked up the book from where it had fallen to the side on Ichigo's bed and placed it on the squad leader's nightstand. It wouldn't do to damage the thing, after all.

Ikuno walked to the door, looked back at the sleeping girl one more time, then made her way down to the main room to join the rest of the squad before breakfast.

* * *

Ichigo awoke with a start, forgetting where she was for a moment. Once she had blinked the sleep from her eyes, she saw that she was in her room in the boarding house, and _not_ trapped in a vehicle getting mauled by a giant Tyrannosaurus. Looking over to the other bed, she saw that Ikuno was already gone.

Ichigo shook her head and thought, _I guess I did end up staying up too late._ But the book had been so good! It was an eye-opening experience, seeing just how much was different in the past and how much humanity had truly lost with the advent of klaxosaurs and the subsequent necessitation of the plantations. Ichigo's thoughts turned to the upcoming battle that the Nines had hinted at, and she felt her pride for humanity well up. She and the rest of the squad would fight their hardest, especially if it meant that it brought humanity that much closer to being able to regain some of what it had lost.

Finally shaking herself from her thoughts, Ichigo hopped nimbly out of bed, and began the process of getting ready for the day. Once she made her way outside, she saw that everyone was already almost done their breakfast.

When she took her seat at the table, Ikuno passed her a plate with some fish and breakfast rolls on it. The bespectacled girl said, "Sorry we started without you, but I wanted to let you sleep."

Ichigo smiled, her cheeks tinged pink. "Thanks, Ikuno, I needed it."

Ikuno returned the smile, then leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, "So, you really like the book, huh?"

Ichigo swallowed the bite of roll in her mouth, then said just as quietly, "It's so good! The people are interesting and the dinosaurs are so _scary_!"

Ikuno chuckled and said, "Yeah, I thought the same thing. What do you think of Dr. Malcolm?"

Ichigo blushed then and said, "Well, he kind of…kind of reminds me of you, honestly; all smart and scientific."

Ikuno's eyes widened and a slight blush of her own colored her cheeks. She responded, "Oh, well, he's my favorite character, so I'll take that as a compliment." She cleared her throat. "Thank you."

Ichigo smiled sweetly and nodded, and both girls finished the meal in pleasant silence.

* * *

In the early evening, after they had finished their cleaning responsibilities for the time being, Ichigo and Ikuno sat outside of the boarding house, near where the squad typically ate. A black cat had come by, attracted by the faint scent of the meals that had been eaten there.

Ichigo had sat down on the edge of the awning outside of the house, enticing the cat to come closer with some scraps of food. She loved small furry animals, and none more than an adorable kitty-cat. As she fed it a few scraps, she giggled as its tongue darted out and tickled her fingertips. Looking to her left, where Ikuno sat beside her, Ichigo asked, "What should we name her?"

Ikuno looked as if the question had taken her by surprise, and she said uncertainly, "Oh, um, well, we could name her, uh…." She trailed off into silence, no good ideas having come to her and a slight blush coloring her cheeks.

Giggling at Ikuno's flustered state, Ichigo momentarily thought back to the advice Zero Two had whispered in her ear the day before: _'You know, you're never going to get anywhere if you don't try to make something happen.'_

Ichigo had glared at the pink-haired girl, because in Ichigo's mind, she _had_ been trying to make things happen, albeit slowly. She just felt embarrassed whenever she thought of actively trying to signal her interest in Ikuno as more than a friend. Every time an opportunity to 'make something happen' made itself available, Ichigo found herself unable to think, unsure of how to proceed. And so, she had been content to simply spend time with Ikuno. In the one-and-a-half days they had been on cleaning duty together, they had spent more time together than in the last couple of weeks combined. Ichigo felt so happy when she was around Ikuno; it just felt _right_.

And all day, she had been thinking back to the dream she had had, of Ikuno embracing her in her bed. It was strange because it seemed so _real_. Every time she thought of it, her heart fluttered and she felt a flush creep across her features. For most of the day, she had barely been able to look Ikuno in the eye, unsure of what she would do if she got lost in those green orbs as she had at dinner the day before.

Ichigo was sure now that she felt strongly for Ikuno, similar to but also different from how she had felt about Hiro. She had always been infatuated with the boy's sense of independence and will to take the initiative, and had wanted to help him feel better during the dark times of his depression, before Zero Two came into his life.

With Ikuno, Ichigo was awed by the girl's intelligence, appreciated her kind and supportive nature (at least towards Ichigo, specifically), and genuinely enjoyed being around and spending time with her. Ichigo knew that she wanted to be with Ikuno, and thought back to some of Zero Two's original advice: _'ask her on a date!'_

Ichigo scratched behind the cat's ears and it emitted deep purrs. She giggled again as it slowly rubbed the length of its warm body along her shins, its fur tickling her. After a few more moments of this, Ichigo sighed contentedly. The combination of the last warm rays of sunlight spilling across the tops of the trees around the house, the cat at her feet, and Ikuno at her side; Ichigo wanted to commit this feeling to memory. She felt calmer and happier than she had in a long time – perhaps even in her whole life.

"I think we should name her Ellie," Ikuno finally said.

Ichigo looked to her and smiled. Yes, Ellie was the perfect name for this cat. In the book, Ellie was an intelligent and strong female character capable of handling dangerous situations herself. This cat had managed to survive largely on its own in Mistilteinn, and Ichigo was pretty sure it was a female, so the name fit.

Ichigo said, "I love it; it's perfect."

Ikuno smiled, then glanced away as a slight blush colored her freckled cheeks again. _She's so pretty_ , Ichigo thought. Then she realized: this was it; the time to ask. She felt it in her bones. She said "Hey, Ikuno?"

Ikuno's gaze slid back to her, and she replied, "Yes, Ichigo?"

Ichigo felt her own blush creeping across her features as she said, "Would…would you want to go-"

And that was when the door to the boarding house slammed open and Zorome ran through it, his legs pumping at full speed as he laughed hysterically and waved a small book over his head.

Not a second later, Miku appeared and chased after him as she furiously yelled, "Hey! Give that back you moron! It's not yours!"

Ichigo quickly stood up, which scared the cat at her feet; it jumped away, mewling its displeasure at the girl. Ikuno stood beside her. They locked gazes, nodded, then rushed after their quarrelsome squad mates.

It wasn't hard to find them, as all Ichigo and Ikuno had to do was follow the yelling. They found Miku and Zorome in a small clearing a few dozen yards past the tree-line of the forest.

Zorome had scrambled up into a tree at the far edge of the clearing, sitting on a lower branch. He made faces and stuck his tongue out at Miku, who was frantically jumping as she tried and failed to get purchase on the tree. After a few moments, she settled for just yelling at him.

"Give that back, you stupid idiot! That's not for you to read!"

Zorome made another face then said, "Oh yeah? Well why don't we just see what's so top-secret, huh?"

Ichigo and Ikuno had made it halfway across the clearing when he opened the small book. It was too late; Zorome began to read in a mocking tone, "Dear Diary, today was such a good day! After I had fun with the girls doing our hair, I spent some time with Zorome."

Zorome's voice quickly took on a confused tone as he continued, "He's so…uh…so cute…when he's not being obnoxious. I just wish he knew how much I really…like him…. Oh." Zorome trailed off into silence, mouth hanging open as he looked back and forth from the diary to its owner, who was now silently shaking as tears began to well up at the corners of her eyes.

Zorome said quietly, "Hey, Miku, I'm sorry, I didn't realize-"

" _Shut. Up._ " The dam broke loose, and Miku began sobbing as she turned on her heel and ran off, back in the direction of the boarding house.

Ichigo yelled, "Hey, Miku, wait!" But the girl ignored her, running past her and Ikuno into the trees. Sighing, Ichigo watched her disappear, and silently hoped that her friend would be all right. Then she turned and walked the rest of the distance to the tree in which Zorome was sitting. She looked up at him, arms crossed and a hard look in her eyes. Ikuno stood beside her, glaring up at the boy.

Zorome hopped down from his branch, eyes downcast as he guiltily held the diary out to Ichigo. She looked first at him, then at the book, then finally at him again. She said, "What are you doing?"

He glanced at her as he used his free hand to scratch the back of his neck and said, "Giving you Miku's diary? Can you tell her I'm sorry when you give it back to her?"

Ikuno scoffed and Ichigo gave him an incredulous look, then said, "Zorome. I'm not the one who's going to give it back to her."

He looked at her, confused. "Uh…then who is?" He looked to Ikuno hopefully, then immediately looked away after he caught Ikuno's murderous gaze.

Ichigo pointed squarely at his chest. "You are."

"Wha-what? Why _me_?" he spluttered.

Ichigo shook her head. _He really has no clue, does he?_ She answered him, "You took it, so you have to be the one to give it back. And, you should also apologize to her for reading her _private diary_." She emphasized the last two words to make sure that the boy understood the gravity of his actions.

Slowly Zorome nodded as he said, "Yeah…I guess that makes sense. But what about what it said?" He tapped the book in his hand. "She said she ' _likes_ ' me. What does that even mean?"

Sighing, Ichigo said, "It means she cares about you. A lot. Don't you care about her a lot?"

Zorome seemed to take a few moments to think to himself, then responded, "Well, I mean _yeah_ , but what am I supposed to _do_ then?"

Ichigo thought to herself, _I feel like Zero Two must have felt when she explained this stuff to me._ But there would definitely be no post-advice kiss for Zorome – at least not from Ichigo.

She said, "Give her some time, then give her back her diary and apologize. Tell her you're sorry and that you care about her, too. Just _talk_ to her for once, instead of bickering like you always do."

Zorome nodded, a determined look in his eye. Ichigo nodded back, and the boy rushed off towards the house.

Ichigo shook her head, thinking, _he had better give her some time, otherwise he's going to get hurt._

Ikuno finally spoke, "I have to admit, you handled that pretty well."

Ichigo smiled and said, "Thanks; I have Zero Two to thank for knowing that advice stuff."

Ikuno got a thoughtful look in her eye, and after a few moments she said quietly, "You know, I was wondering: if you don't mind my asking, why did you need relationship advice if you're not interested in any of the boys?"

And there it was: another chance. Ichigo debated with herself for only a moment, then she opened her mouth to speak. As she did so, the enormity of what she was doing finally impacted her, and instead of the carefully planned out mini-speech she had, her sense of control decided to abandon her at the last moment, and she ended up blurting, "I really like you and want to go on a date with you!"

She immediately spun around and faced away from Ikuno, her admission causing her face to feel as if it were on fire. But she had done it. She had confessed to Ikuno. No matter how the girl responded, Ichigo felt relief in knowing that she had admitted her true feelings.

Silence. Thirty seconds passed. Finally, Ichigo heard footsteps; they were coming closer to her. Then they circled around her as Ikuno walked to stand in front of Ichigo. Ikuno opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it and shook her head. She walked forward and hesitated for only a moment before tentatively wrapping her arms around Ichigo. She hugged her.

Ichigo closed her eyes; she felt safe in Ikuno's arms. She allowed her head to rest on Ikuno's shoulder, breathing in the scent that was a mix of clean uniform and what was distinctly _Ikuno_.

After a few moments of their silent embrace, Ikuno pulled back slightly and looked at Ichigo. She said softly, "I really like you, too, Ichigo." Her eyebrows scrunched for a moment as she continued, "But what happened? I thought you said you weren't interested in me like that." Her eyes widened as she quickly added, "But I'm obviously happy that you changed your mind!"

Ichigo giggled and laid her head back on Ikuno's shoulder. She closed her eyes as she said, "I think I just needed some time to process it. The idea of being with another pistil…with another _girl_ ; it took me so much by surprise because I didn't even think that was possible. But…then Goro and Zero Two helped me think about it and I realized how I truly feel about you." Ichigo no longer felt embarrassed. She felt the truth of her words in her bones, and saying them made her feel more and more confident. "I really care about you Ikuno, and I want to go on a date with you," she repeated.

Ikuno's eyebrows rose in surprise. She thought to herself, _Goro and Zero Two actually helped her realize she liked me?_ At first, she became worried about how many people knew her secret, but that fear was quickly quelled; if Ichigo had trusted them enough to talk to them about it herself, then they were trustworthy. Ikuno would have to thank the two of them at some point.

After a few moments of silence, Ikuno said, "You don't know how happy I am to hear that, Ichigo. I…" she stopped herself from saying ' _love you_ ,' as she felt that might be too much too soon. In fact, presently Ikuno wasn't even sure if she was fully in control of her body.

She figured that right now, she was on autopilot, and her emotions would hit her full-force later. So, she just focused on fully understanding the situation. She knew that she could have been jumping around cheering, but her inquisitive nature took over. She finished her statement, "…I just want to know, what exactly _is_ a date?"

Ichigo looked up to her again, her cheeks flushing a soft pink. "Oh! Um, well Zero Two told me that it's when two people who like each other go and spend time together. Usually they do something nice, and it's just the two of them." She looked away, her blush deepening.

It was the cutest thing Ikuno had ever seen. Smiling warmly, she said, "That sounds amazing, Ichigo. I would love to go on a date with you."

Ichigo looked to her and stumbled over her words as she said a little too loudly for their proximity, "O-okay! I have an idea for what we can do! It'll have to be tomorrow, and it's a surprise, so no questions!"

Ikuno chuckled and shook her head. She leaned down and rested her head next to Ichigo's as she said, "Whatever you say, squad leader."

Ichigo closed her eyes and breathed in Ikuno's scent again, wishing that their embrace could last forever. A warm feeling spread all throughout Ichigo's body as she stood there in Ikuno's arms, as if happiness ran through her very veins. She had never felt anything like this before, and she never wanted it to go away.

But it was getting dark, and they needed to eat, even though Ichigo felt like she could survive solely on the feeling of warm contentedness currently flowing through her body. So, after a few more seconds, in which Ichigo committed as much of this to memory as possible, she pulled slightly away from Ikuno and said, "We should probably head back; I don't want anyone to get worried and have to come looking for us."

Ikuno smiled, somewhat saddened that they couldn't stay there, just the two of them, for a while longer. But, she understood. So, Ikuno nodded and both girls began to walk back towards the house. Before they had even reached the edge of the clearing, Ichigo's hand drifted over and softly grasped Ikuno's.

* * *

They let go of each other once they reached the edge of the forest on the other side. Once again, Goro and Mitsuru had prepared dinner, and the rest of Squad 13 had gathered to eat – save for two. Squinting, as they were still a little far away, Ichigo realized that the two missing members of their team were Miku and Zorome.

Next to her, Ikuno chuckled and said, "Either it went really badly, or it didn't."

Ichigo chuckled as well as she responded, "I hope it didn't, for Zorome's sake – not that he wouldn't deserve a little Miku-rage for what he did."

Ikuno sighed and shook her head. "Yeah; I really hope he learned his lesson this time."

Ichigo nodded in agreement, then said, "We can check on them after dinner; it's probably a good idea to make sure that Miku didn't kill him." Both girls broke into a fit of laughter, and they were afflicted with a bad case of the chuckles all throughout dinner and during the post-meal cleanup. The rest of the squad – besides Zero Two – gave them odd looks the entire time, but neither girl cared.

Ichigo figured that it was a result of their adrenaline and other emotions from earlier, expelled from the girls in the form of pure joy and happiness.

Finally finished with their cleaning duties for the day, they began their search for the two missing squad members. Not finding them in any of the girls' rooms, nor the boys', they ended up standing at the top of the stairs in the house's main hall.

Ichigo looked to Ikuno and said, "Okay, now I'm actually worried. Where do you think they could be?"

Ikuno cupped her chin in thought. One of her eyes was slightly scrunched, and she looked off in the distance, thinking. Finally, she said, "The only place we haven't checked yet is the abandoned wing, so that's probably the best bet." She looked to Ichigo and shook her head, "But why would they go there? That part of the house is…." She trailed off, making a face and shrugging.

Ichigo nodded and said, "Yeah, that place makes me uncomfortable, too. It's so sad there."

Ikuno nodded, then both girls made their way to the abandoned wing. They checked the first couple of rooms, but they were empty.

Then they reached the end of the hall, and the door to the last room was slightly ajar. They heard whispering from inside, and decided to creep quietly towards the doorway so as not to interrupt whomever was inside.

Ikuno leaned against the doorframe and looked with one eye through the sliver of opening. Ichigo slotted her head in right below her, also trying to get a view. It wasn't lost on Ikuno how Ichigo was pressing herself almost entirely against Ikuno's body, and a part of her thought the girl was doing it on purpose. Ikuno tried to ignore the feeling that settled in the pit of her stomach at the contact and instead focused on what was going on inside of the room.

Miku sat on a bed, her legs drawn up to her chest, a blanket covering her shoulders. Her cheeks shined with recently shed tears, but she wasn't crying at the moment.

Zorome sat beside her, one arm around her shoulder. He was in the middle of speaking, "-so, so sorry, Miku. I know I can be such a dumbass sometimes, but I really do care about you, too." His cheeks took on a pinkish hue as he coughed before adding, "And I really like you, too."

Miku looked to him; she sniffed as she said, "Really? You like me, Zorome?"

Zorome blushed even harder as he said loudly, "Well yeah, I do, okay! You don't need to say it in that voice!"

A smile crept its way onto Miku's face as she said, "What voice, Zorome?" She was definitely putting on an overly-cute voice, Ichigo noted.

Zorome looked ready to explode; he sounded near-panicked as he shouted, " _That_ voice! You're doing it right- _mph!_ "

In a flash, Miku had slammed her lips into Zorome's in a passionate kiss. Ichigo's eyes widened, and she felt Ikuno's jaw drop on top of her head.

Miku continued to kiss Zorome, and his surprised, wide-open eyes slid closed as he gave himself over to the kiss. As they continued to lock lips, Ichigo could feel her face growing hotter the longer she watched, and she was overcome with the feeling that they were intruding. So, she slowly pulled herself away from the door, and Ikuno followed. They were quietly making their way towards the shadowed stairs leading up from the wing when two figures appeared, making their way down the stairs.

Out of the shadows appeared Kokoro and Mitsuru, arm-in-arm. As soon as they saw Ichigo and Ikuno standing there in the hallway, they stopped short. All four Parasites looked at each other, unsure of how to proceed.

Then Mitsuru cleared his throat and said, his face somewhat darkening in a blush, "We didn't see you if you didn't see us." Next to him, Kokoro nodded her agreement, also blushing.

Silently, both Ichigo and Ikuno nodded, and after a moment, Mitsuru and Kokoro walked to the other end of the hall, as far away as possible from where Miku and Zorome were…doing whatever it was they were doing. They closed their door, and the sound of a lock being turned clearly rang out.

Alone once again, Ichigo and Ikuno looked to each other, then rushed up the stairs and back to their room.

* * *

Ichigo sat next to Ikuno on Ikuno's bed, both girls laughing hysterically. "And the way he just said, 'We didn't see you if you didn't see us!'" Next to her, Ikuno held herself as she struggled to avoid falling off of the bed, laughing as hard as she was.

After a few more minutes of laughter, both girls fell into a comfortable silence, both taking time to regain their breath. Ichigo shifted so that she was flush against Ikuno, and laid her head on the taller girl's shoulder. She wrapped her hand around Ikuno's once again, reveling in the contact.

A few moments passed, then Ichigo said, "I'm so happy, Ikuno." She gave the girl's hand a warm squeeze in emphasis.

Ikuno whispered, "Me too, Ichigo. I'm so, so unbelievably happy." She smiled, as she continued, "I'm happy for Miku and Zorome; I'm happy for Kokoro and _Mitsuru_ , believe it or not, and you know what? I'm happy for Zero Two and Hiro, even. I feel like this is the happiest the squad has ever been."

Ichigo nodded in agreement. Then she yawned, all of the day's events catching up with her. She closed her eyes, leaning even more fully on Ikuno. She was so comfortable right now. And without even realizing it, Ichigo drifted off to sleep, in a position very similar to the one she had been in that morning, embracing Ikuno.

Looking at the lightly snoring girl next to her, Ikuno smiled and kissed the top of her head. She reflected on the last few days; Ikuno had endured years of intense loneliness and longing, and finally, _finally_ she had admitted her true feelings to Ichigo. Ichigo had turned her down at first, but had just needed time to process it, as she had said. And now, Ikuno had a _date_ with Ichigo! Life really had a way of turning things on their head when one least expected it, Ikuno thought.

Then she smiled, realizing something. As Ian Malcolm would say, that was chaos for you; life was unpredictable, and you just had to roll with things as they came.

Ikuno yawned, feeling tired herself. So, she lightly shook Ichigo, and when the girl mumbled an incoherent noise of acknowledgement, Ikuno chuckled and said, "you should probably get into bed, Ichigo."

The girl made another noise, followed by a soft snore.

Sighing and shaking her head, Ikuno turned and carefully repositioned herself so that she had one arm around Ichigo's shoulders and another underneath her knees. Ikuno lifted the small girl with more ease than she had expected, and walked over to Ichigo's bed. She gently laid the girl down. Idly, Ikuno thought about changing Ichigo into her nightgown, but then she realized how that might seem and shook her head to herself. Instead, she opted to take Ichigo's hairpin and place it on the girl's nightstand, next to the copy of _Jurassic Park_ , and then she pulled the blanket over Ichigo, up to her shoulders.

Ichigo immediately shifted and snuggled into her bed, a serene look on her face. Ikuno stroked Ichigo's hair for a few moments, then went to get ready for bed herself.

As she laid in bed looking up at the ceiling, Ikuno thought to herself, _Tomorrow can't come soon enough_. Eventually, she drifted off into sleep, dreaming of strawberries and butterflies.


	5. Chapter 5 - Preparations

Using her handheld mirror to make sure that she slipped it on just right, Ichigo attached her hairpin for what might have been the ten-thousandth time in her life. This one had been a gift from Goro – a replacement for her original, gifted from Hiro when they were still children at the Garden – and Ichigo valued it greatly, as it was now a symbol of her partner and friend. She smiled; without Goro's support, she most likely would never have embarked on this journey with Ikuno. As had been the case since their morning spent fishing together, it warmed her heart thinking about how much he wanted her to be happy.

With a wistful sigh, Ichigo looked to the window of her and Ikuno's room. It was the next morning, and she had woken up bright and early. Looking at her mirror one last time, she gave herself a final once-over. Satisfied, she stood, grabbed her small notebook, and went to leave the room.

At the door, she paused for a moment and looked back at Ikuno, who was still sleeping. Ichigo thought about the day before, and couldn't help but smile. She was so happy that she had confessed her feelings to Ikuno, and that Ikuno still felt the same way about her. It was almost unbelievable: the two had a _date_! Taking just one more moment to admire how pretty Ikuno looked as she slept, Ichigo turned and quietly exited the room.

In the hallway, she opened her notebook and looked over her notes. Ichigo had a carefully planned-out schedule to keep to and preparations to make in order for her date with Ikuno to be as good and romantic as possible. Nodding to herself, Ichigo began to make her way to her first destination.

* * *

Ikuno felt like she was floating. She couldn't help but keep replaying yesterday's events over and over in her head, and she was so excited for tonight. _A date with Ichigo!_ Ikuno knew that she had a big, goofy grin on her face, but quite frankly, she didn't care.

As she made her way down the stairs and into the common room, she saw that most of the squad was down there as well. The only ones missing were Goro and Mitsuru, who were probably in the end-stages of preparing breakfast.

Miku sat with Zorome in a chair only meant for one person; she was essentially sitting in his lap, really. She was loudly talking to Kokoro and Ichigo – who sat on the couch next to them – about something or other, while the two girls couldn't help but giggle as Zorome tried in vain to disappear into his own uniform.

Ikuno almost felt bad for the boy but, remembering his antics with Miku's diary, she felt that it was a just punishment for him to have to deal with Miku's over-affections.

Smiling and shaking her head, she began to make her way towards Ichigo.

Ikuno passed by Hiro, Zero Two, and Futoshi, who sat on the other couch. Futoshi had been talking to Hiro while Zero Two cuddled her Darling, but upon sighting Ikuno, Futoshi paused to wave and say happily, "Good morning, Ikuno!" Everyone else echoed the sentiment; Ichigo turned towards Ikuno, and it wasn't lost on her how Ichigo's eyes lit up when they momentarily locked gazes.

Feeling her grin grow even wider, Ikuno waved back and responded, "Good morning, everyone!" Futoshi went back to conversing with his couch-mates, and Ikuno made her way over to Ichigo. Ikuno made sure not to get too close, as whatever was between her and Ichigo was still a secret, but she almost couldn't fight the urge to reach out and hold Ichigo's hand. Instead, she simply sat down on the other side of Kokoro and listened to whatever it was that Miku was going on about; something about a dream the redhead had had about a giant fish trying to make a sandwich.

At a break in the almost-constant flow of Miku's stream-of-consciousness story, Ikuno felt like having some fun. Making sure to catch Ichigo's eyes for a few seconds, Ikuno winked and flashed her a knowing smile before turning to face Miku and Zorome once again. Leaning forward, she said, "Hey, Zorome?" Ikuno saw Ichigo's eyes widen in understanding, one of the girl's hands quickly lifting to her mouth in order to suppress the giggles that threatened to spill forth.

The boy looked to her with uncharacteristically exhausted eyes and responded tiredly, "Yeah?"

Ikuno lifted her chin to expose her throat, "You seem to have-" she gestured to the general area around the base of her jaw "-a little something right here." She of course was referring to the small, circular bruise on the side of his throat, most likely left by a suction of some kind. The cause of the suction being a product of what Ikuno and Ichigo had seen the night before.

Zorome reached up to his neck in confusion, then flushed as he realized what Ikuno meant. He immediately pulled his uniform's collar up to try and cover his neck, grumbling to himself all the while and shooting death-glares at Ikuno.

But then Miku began to nuzzle Zorome's head and kissed his cheek, causing him to blush even more. Ikuno, Ichigo, and Kokoro all burst into laughter, and they all had fits of the giggles throughout breakfast and the rest of the morning.

Ikuno was happy; it was going to be a good day, she could feel it.

* * *

After breakfast and daily chores, everyone had gone to either relax or goof off.

Well, almost everyone.

For the tenth time that day, Goro pulled the scrap of paper out of his pocket and looked at it. It simply read ' _Goro: Kitchen. 14:00. Come alone._ ' He had found the note resting on his pillow in his room after breakfast. Intrigued, he had waited until the right time, and now was making his way to the designated place.

He stopped in front of the kitchen door, wondering if whoever left him the note was already inside. Just as he reached up a hand to push open the door, a voice said right next to him, "Are you the one who left me this?"

Startled, Goro yelped and jumped to the side, away from the source of the voice. When he turned and saw that it was just Zero Two however, he couldn't help but laugh.

She chuckled herself and said, "Sorry, I couldn't resist."

Goro shook his head with a smile before saying, "It's fine; you didn't scare me too badly."

Zero Two responded with a lighthearted eye-roll, "Uh huh, sure."

Goro chuckled for a moment and then, once again growing serious, he said, "No, I didn't leave the note for you. I was actually wondering the same thing." He held up his scrap of paper.

She reached out with an open palm, "Here, let me see that." Goro handed her his slip, and she held both scraps up next to each other. "They say the same thing; just our names and when and where to meet."

Goro made an intrigued noise, then said, "Well, I guess if we want to find out what this is all about, we should go in." Zero Two nodded, and they entered the room.

Inside, it was dark. The only light came from what spilled in from the open doorway, but the kitchen was large and the light only went so far. Typically, Goro and Mitsuru – or whoever else happened to be on cooking duty – had been using several lanterns to light up the room when they used it, but none were currently lit.

After making it about halfway into the kitchen, Goro called out, "Hello? Is anyone else in here?"

He heard the sound of what seemed to be a metallic scraping, then with a brilliant flash, a bright, yellow-orange light bathed the room. Goro had to squint for a few seconds as his eyes adjusted, but he eventually realized that the person holding the light source – one of the lamps, he saw – was none other than Ichigo. She smiled and said cheerily, "Hey guys, thanks for coming to meet me."

Next to him, Zero Two crossed her arms and arched a perfect eyebrow. "Not that I don't appreciate the dramatics, but what's this about?"

Goro wondered what all of this was about, himself. Addressing his partner, Goro said, "Yeah... What's up, Ichigo?"

"Guys," an ecstatic smile spread across her face as she said with barely-contained excitement, "I have a _date_ with Ikuno. _Tonight_!"

The reaction was instantaneous. Zero Two clapped her hands together and rushed to smother Ichigo in a tight hug. The horned-girl said, "That's great, Ichigo! Congratulations, I'm so happy for you!"

Ichigo laughed and hugged Zero Two back. Still smiling, Ichigo said, "Thank you, Zero Two. Your advice really helped." Looking over Zero Two's shoulder at Goro, she gestured for him to come over as well. She said, "And your advice helped, too, Goro."

But upon noticing the confused look on his face, she asked, "Goro? What's wrong?"

The boy quickly waved his hands in front of him as he said, "I'm really happy for you, too!" Then he cleared his throat and continued, "But…what's a date?"

Disengaging from the smaller girl, Zero Two turned to face him and quickly said in a not-unkind tone, "a date is when two people who care about or even love each other spend time together one-on-one in order to help develop or solidify their romantic relationship with one another."

Ichigo tapped the taller girl's arm to get her attention and said with a smirk, "Not bad; much better than when you explained it to me."

Zero Two rolled her eyes as she responded, "What can I say? I've turned over a new leaf." Both girls chuckled at that.

Nodding to himself, Goro realized that Zero Two must have been the 'specific individual' Ichigo had wanted to get additional advice from after that emotional morning they had spent together. Originally, he had thought that Ichigo was going to tell him about it, but when he had asked her, she had blushed and simply said that she wasn't even sure that the advice had been any good. But obviously the advice had worked, and Goro couldn't have been happier for his partner.

He walked up to Ichigo and pulled her into a tight hug of his own and said quietly, "Congrats, this is great news." After what felt like an adequate amount of time, Goro separated himself from her; a small part of him still reluctant to let go of the girl about whom he cared so much. But he saw that she was happy; happier than she had been in a long, long time. And that was what mattered.

He smiled and said, "All right, what do you need us to do?"

Ichigo walked over to the counter on which she had left the lantern. She pulled out a small notebook from one of her uniform's pockets and laid it on the counter, next to the light. She opened it and flipped through several pages before stopping, then gestured for Goro and Zero Two to come look at it with her.

Intrigued, they both came to stand on either side of the squad leader. Smiling brightly at both of them, Ichigo said, "All right guys, here's the plan…."

* * *

Elsewhere, Ikuno was accompanied by Kokoro and Miku on a walk along a winding path through the forest around the boarding house. The girls had talked for a little while at the beginning of the walk, but after about twenty minutes they had settled into a comfortable silence. Ikuno looked at the girls walking beside her; on her left, Kokoro hummed a mindless tune, and on her right, Miku looked off in the distance with the face of someone daydreaming about their significant other.

Ikuno had wanted to walk with the girls to ask for advice about Ichigo, but she was having trouble thinking through how to do that. So, she eventually decided to ease into the conversation by saying, "So... How are things going with Mitsuru, Kokoro?"

Kokoro smiled sweetly and said, "We're doing great, thank you for asking, Ikuno."

Ikuno returned the smile and said, "Good, that's good. What about you, Miku? You looked pretty happy with Zorome this morning."

Miku still had that faraway look in her eyes as she said dreamily, "Yeah… He's such a cutie, isn't he?"

Ikuno nodded uneasily and said, "Uh, sure." Next to her, Kokoro giggled.

A few moments passed, and Ikuno inhaled a few deep breaths to settle herself. Finally, she cleared her throat to get her companions' attention and said, "So, I have a question for both of you; it's about advice."

Kokoro looked to her as they continued to walk. "Oh? How can we help, Ikuno?" Miku nodded her agreement.

A slight blush crept its way across Ikuno's freckled cheeks as she said, "Well, I mean, this all hypothetical, all right?"

Both girls indicated that they understood.

Satisfied, Ikuno continued, "Okay, so, hypothetically, if you were going to spend some time alone with someone that you really liked, and it was because they liked you, too, do you have any advice on what to do in that situation?" A full-on blush made Ikuno's face feel like it was burning.

Kokoro and Miku shared a look, then Kokoro asked, "Who is it, Ikuno?"

Miku added, "Yeah, who is it?" Her eyes took on a devilish look. "Is it Futoshi? _Goro_?"

Kokoro nodded sagely and said, "I can see it; they both wear glasses."

Ikuno quickly looked back and forth at them, feeling panic beginning to build in her gut. "I-it's no one; I said this was all hypothetical!"

Miku raised an eyebrow and skeptically responded, "Uh huh. Well, if you were going to spend time alone with someone you really like, and you already know that they like you, too, then I think you should just jump right in and kiss them." She smiled brightly as she said, "That worked for me and Zorome, after all!"

Kokoro shook her head, "No, I don't think that works with everyone; I tried that with Mitsuru but he wasn't ready; some people need time before things like that." She turned to Ikuno, "Do something with the hair, first."

Ikuno gave her a confused look. "'Hair?' What do you mean?"

Kokoro responded, "I think that doing something with the other person's hair is a nice way to bond with them. At least, that's what happened for me with Mitsuru; first, I gave him a haircut, then I showed him how to braid my hair, and he turned out to be really good at it."

From Ikuno's other side, Miku said, "Huh, I should try something like that with Zorome."

Ikuno remained silent as she contemplated Kokoro's advice. She liked the idea of Ichigo playing with her hair, and vice-versa. While that already had happened from time to time when the girls had done each other's hair, Ikuno felt that it would be different under current circumstances. Subconsciously, she began to toy with one of her sidelocks, twirling it around a finger, a small smile making its way onto her face.

Then Miku cut across her thoughts as the redhead eagerly said, "Yeah, but you should still try to kiss him if it feels right."

 _Her_ , Ikuno mentally of saying that though, she asked, "But how would I know if it's the right time?"

Miku and Kokoro shared a smirk, obviously not believing that this was a hypothetical situation. Kokoro said, "You'll know; it's a feeling that you get in here," she tapped her chest, over her heart. Miku nodded in agreement.

Ikuno smiled, imagining finally kissing Ichigo after all this time; the thought both thrilled and scared her. The girls continued to walk along the trail, silence settling over them once again. Eventually, Ikuno said, "Thank you, both of you. I think that this will help."

Miku raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I thought you said this was all 'hypothetical?'"

Eyes widening, Ikuno realized her slip-up too late. Her cheeks flushed, she only managed to say, "Oh, um, uh..."

Then Kokoro came to her rescue; the blonde said in a soft but chastising tone, "Leave her alone, Miku. I'm sure Ikuno will tell us all about it, when she's ready."

Ikuno huffed a sigh of relief, then said, "Yeah, what Kokoro said." Miku shrugged in response, seeming to drop it for the time being. Looking to the cheery blonde, Ikuno said, "Thanks."

Kokoro smiled and nodded, then went back to humming.

The girls walked on in silence, and Ikuno's thoughts turned towards the coming night, and her date with Ichigo.

* * *

Back in the kitchen, Ichigo, Goro, and Zero Two were almost finished preparing the special meal Ichigo had planned out for her date with Ikuno. The main dish had been completed and packed up in plastic containers for transportation, and the dessert was currently baking in the oven.

While the lack of electricity was a tricky thing to work around, a supply closet in the house had some large, solar-powered batteries for emergencies. A full charge was enough to keep an appliance like the oven running for a couple of hours at a time.

Thinking back, Ichigo remembered that all children had learned in the Garden that, while there were other sources of energy besides magma energy, none were as powerful or as efficient as the substance that the klaxosaurs sought to steal from the humans. ' _Other sources of energy are only useful for powering small devices, while magma energy is necessary for our Plantations and FranXX units to run_ ,' the instructor had said. It was in that lesson that the children were taught just how important magma energy was, and in turn, how essential the children would be as Parasites, defending the power source from humanity's monstrous enemies.

A timer dinged, pulling Ichigo out of her memories.

The timer signaled that the cookies had finished baking. Wearing an apron and oven mitts, Goro pulled the tray of treats out of the oven and placed it on the counter to cool off. Smiling, he announced, "I think that's it. We did it, guys!"

Beaming, Ichigo pulled both Goro and Zero Two into a crushing hug, saying over and over again, "Thankyouthankyouthankyou, guys!"

Goro chuckled as he patted Ichigo's back, while Zero Two's attention was solely focused on the cookies. Her only thought was, _SWEETS_. Thinking quickly, she said, "We should make sure that they taste all right; it should only the best for you two, after all," she said, referring to Ichigo and Ikuno.

Ichigo released them from the hug and regarded Zero Two skeptically. But upon noting the taller girl's wide, begging eyes, Ichigo quickly felt her resolve break down. She sighed and said, "Fine, go ahead." But before Zero Two could launch herself at the tray, Ichigo gave her a stern look and raised a hand, pointing at her, "But just _one_ , you hear me?"

Zero Two nodded dutifully, turned to the tray, and proceeded to _slam_ exactly one cookie hastily into her mouth, making noises that no person should make when eating, ever.

Both Goro and Ichigo blushed at Zero Two's antics, and Ichigo was just about to say something when the knob on the door leading into the kitchen turned. Zero Two had locked the door as a precaution to keep anyone from finding out what they were doing, but she hadn't accounted for the sense of smell of the only other person who could detect baked goods almost as well as she could.

A few knocks sounded from the door, followed by Futoshi's voice, "Hey, is someone baking cookies in there? Can I have one?"

Ichigo looked to Goro, who looked to Zero Two, who looked to Ichigo. Ichigo nodded, and Zero Two picked up a cookie. Resisting the urge to down this one as she had the other, Zero Two quickly walked over to the door, unlocked it, and stuck her head out.

Startled, Futoshi hopped back with a yelp. The smell of delicious baked treats became stronger however, and he recovered his composure quickly.

Before he could say anything, Zero Two held out a circle of baked goodness, dotted with chocolate chips. With a piercing look, she whispered, "You were never here. _We_ were never here. You know _nothing_. Understand?"

Slowly, Futoshi nodded.

Zero Two smiled sweetly, and said in a voice completely at odds with how she had just spoken, "Good."

She held out the cookie, which Futoshi quickly took, afraid that she would change her mind. Without another word, Zero Two disappeared back inside the kitchen, and he heard the distinct noise of the door being locked again.

As he went to go outside of the house to play some games with Zorome, he wondered why Zero Two and whoever else was in that room were keeping their cookies a secret. But then those thoughts were quickly replaced by pure bliss as he munched on and savored his treat, and he wondered about it no longer.

Zero Two made her way back to the counter, where she leaned within lunging-distance of the cookies. She yawned as she said, "Situation's handled; he took the bribe."

Ichigo nodded, "Thanks, Zero Two."

The taller girl responded by giving her an expectant look.

Ichigo rolled her eyes and said, " _Fine_ ," and gestured towards the tray.

Zero Two's eyes lit up and she grabbed another cookie. Right as it was going into her mouth however, Goro spoke up and said in a pleading voice, "But _please_ , no more noises, okay?"

She glared at the boy and stuck her tongue out at him, then put the cookie in her mouth. She had to tightly grip the edge of the counter in her effort to stay silent, but she did it. Swallowing, she only let out a small, satisfied, " _Ah_."

Shaking her head and chuckling, Ichigo said, "Thank you, both of you. I couldn't have done this – any of it – without your help. You don't know how much this means to me."

Goro smiled and said, "Hey, it's the least we could do. You do so much as squad leader, and you've been under so much stress; you deserve to be happy once in a while."

Zero Two nodded her agreement, then walked up to Ichigo. Placing a hand on the shorter girl's shoulder, she said, "Tonight will be great. Just remember to be open and honest with her. Darling taught me that that's necessary for a healthy relationship."

Ichigo nodded, then suddenly she pulled Zero Two into another tight hug. She whispered, "Thank you, Zero Two. I'm so glad that we're friends."

Zero Two returned the embrace and said, "Me, too, Ichigo."

After a couple of seconds, Ichigo released the other girl. Wiping a stray tear of joy from her face, she said, "All right, I'm going to clean up then go and set up everything for tonight. I won't need any help with that, so you guys can go and enjoy the rest of the afternoon."

Goro and Zero Two shared a look, then they both looked back to Ichigo. Goro said, "I think we're fine staying and cleaning up for you."

Zero Two continued, "Just worry about setting everything up and having the best date ever."

Ichigo smiled at her two friends, almost unable to believe how kind they were – and how lucky she was to know them, to have them on her squad. It was an honor. Another stray tear making its way down her cheek, she said, "Thank you guys, for everything."

Goro and Zero Two smiled and nodded in acknowledgement, then began to go about cleaning up the mess left in the wake of their cooking.

Ichigo quickly packed up the cookies, grabbed the containers with her and Ikuno's dinner, and placed it all into a small basket she had found. Taking one last look at her friends, joking with each other as they cleaned dirty pots and cooking utensils, she smiled.

Throughout her time as squad leader, she had oftentimes felt alone. Even spending time with the girls, piloting with Goro; she had still felt as if something were missing. Infatuated with a boy who didn't return her feelings, and all of the stresses of being in command and responsible for the welfare and safety of her squad mates, her sanity had been tested many times.

But now, with everything that had happened; all that the squad had been through – Zero Two included – she felt as if this was the happiest and most closely-knit everyone had ever been.

And so, with a smile, she turned from her two friends and left the kitchen. She had final preparations to make, for a date with the person who might finally fill that empty space in Ichigo's heart.


	6. Chapter 6 - Under a Starry Sky

Ikuno leaned back in her chair in the common room, staring blankly at the book in her hands. Honestly, she had no idea what the book was about or what the words on the page even said. She had grabbed it from the house's library room and proceeded to spend the last hour not-reading the first page over and over again.

She had to face it: she was nervous. All day, Ikuno had felt excited – confident, even – about her date with Ichigo. But, as the afternoon gave way to evening and the sun began to set, she had felt herself growing restless, idle worries popping in and out of existence in her head as the inevitable drew nearer and nearer.

 _Do I look all right? How do I smell? Should I make something for Ichigo? No, she said she wanted to take care of everything. But I should do something anyway, right?_ Ikuno didn't know what to do; this was the first time she had ever been in this situation. Granted, this was probably the first actual 'date' between two people in who-knew-how-long.

It was as Ikuno began to think down the track of some of the advice she had gotten earlier and what she should do involving Ichigo's hair that she noticed those exact blue bangs and signature hairclip popping into view over the top edge of her book. Lowering it, Ikuno saw that Ichigo now stood just a few feet away. Panicking, she said in a slightly-too-loud voice, "Oh! Hi, Ichigo!" Cringing internally at her embarrassing greeting, Ikuno immediately felt her face heat up in a warm blush.

But Ichigo simply gave a small chuckle and smile, and Ikuno noticed a blush of her own coloring her cheeks. Ichigo struggled to maintain eye contact, locking eyes with Ikuno for only a couple of seconds before quickly glancing away, then back again. Apparently, Ikuno wasn't the only one nervous about tonight. And for some reason, that was comforting.

A couple of seconds passed before Ichigo responded, "Hey, Ikuno." She held her arms loosely behind her back as she said, "So, um, everything's ready." Her blush grew as she forced herself to lock eyes with Ikuno, "We can go now, if you want?"

A thought popped into Ikuno's head just as she was about to respond, and she instead asked, "Are we not eating with the rest of the squad?"

Ichigo shook her head, "No, we're not; Goro and Zero Two are covering for us. I don't want to say anything else though, because it's a surprise." She gave a sheepish smile.

Ikuno was amazed at just how much Goro and Zero Two were involved in helping both her and Ichigo. Besides thanking them, she would have to make a conscious effort to become better friends with them. It would be good for her to strengthen bonds with her squad mates, and especially the two people encouraging her and Ichigo.

Filing that endeavor away at the back of her mind for later, she smiled at Ichigo, feeling her nerves beginning to settle. Hearing Ichigo's voice always made her feel better, no matter what it was she was dealing with or going through. So, with new conviction, she put down her book and stood. She looked to Ichigo with bright eyes and said, "Then I won't ask any more questions." With a smirk, she gestured and said, "Lead on, leader."

Ichigo giggled at Ikuno's joke, and the sound was magic to Ikuno's ears. Already the mood had seemed to lighten.

Making sure that the coast was clear, Ichigo reached out and intertwined her hand with Ikuno's, a fresh blush spreading on both girls' faces at the contact. Gently pulling her along, Ichigo led Ikuno out of the house and onto a path into the forest.

The night was warm, but not too hot. A gentle breeze kept the air from becoming stagnant, and the moon and stars shone brightly through the cracks in Mistilteinn's dome.

 _Perfect conditions_ , Ikuno idly thought.

Ichigo continued to wordlessly lead her along, and after about ten or so minutes of walking, she stopped. Looking around, however, Ikuno only saw the forest on either side of the path, which stretched out both ahead of and behind them. Confused, she looked to Ichigo for an explanation.

Ichigo was blushing again. Smiling nervously, she said, "All right, we're almost there. But I want you to close your eyes until I say to open them."

A part of her wanted to ask Ichigo why, but she knew that she could trust whatever the smaller girl said. So, she simply nodded and closed her eyes.

Without another word, Ichigo again gently guided her onward, pulling on their entwined hands. After just another minute of walking, Ikuno felt herself being led along a turn in the path, then suddenly Ichigo's soft grasp released her.

Ichigo said, "Just give me a few seconds."

Eyes still closed, Ikuno nodded and said, "Sure." She heard Ichigo walking around in an area somewhere in front of her, with small pauses every so often. At each of these intervals, the sounds of scraping metal rang out, and then the darkness inside of Ikuno's closed eyelids was replaced with a soft, steadily-increasing orange glow.

A few more seconds, then finally Ichigo softly said, "Okay. You can look now."

Ikuno opened her eyes, and what she saw stunned her into silence. It took her a few moments to take all of it in: Mistilteinn's moonlit lake served as the main view of Ichigo's setup, which itself consisted of a large blanket laid out in a small grassy clearing several yards from the water's edge. Candlelit lamps were situated all throughout the clearing, providing the soft orange glow Ikuno had noted earlier. The top edge of the blanket – nearest the tree line – was bordered by a fallen log, which could serve as something for them to lean back on, should they so choose, while the bottom edge of the fabric gave way to grass, which in turn gave way to mostly bare soil, and eventually, the lake. Situated in the center of the blanket was a large, open basket. Next to that were two plastic containers, currently opaque with steam. Beside them was a large container of cookies and a couple canteens of water. And in front of it all stood Ichigo, nervously wringing her hands and once again unable to maintain eye contact with Ikuno.

Ikuno knew her mouth was hanging open, but she didn't care. _Ichigo did all of this...for me?_ She was startled when she felt something warm and wet run down her cheek; she quickly took off her glasses and began to wipe at her eyes. She didn't even know how to describe what she felt inside; overjoyed seemed to be the most accurate, but at the same time she was embarrassed at her emotional reaction to Ichigo's beautiful setup.

Misunderstanding Ikuno's tears however, Ichigo rushed over to her, trying to meet her eyes. "I'm so sorry Ikuno! Is it too much?" Then she looked down and away, mumbling to herself, "I knew I should have done something simpler..."

But then Ikuno began to chuckle, and Ichigo looked up again, startled. "Ikuno, what... Is everything all right?"

Ikuno quickly tried to stifle her laughter and catch her breath so that she could respond, "Ichigo...everything is definitely 'all right.' _Better_ than 'all right.'" She gestured to the setup, "This is _amazing_ , but you didn't have to do all of this; it's just me, after all."

Ichigo gave her an earnest look, "But I wanted to do it, _because_ it's you."

Ikuno felt her cheeks flush, and she suddenly couldn't look at Ichigo again. Warmth spread all throughout her chest as she said, "Well...it's better than I could have ever imagined." She forced herself to meet Ichigo's eye, "This is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me."

Ichigo beamed at the praise, eyes shining and smiling widely. She pulled Ikuno into a tight hug and exclaimed, "I'm so happy you like it!"

Ikuno closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of Ichigo holding her so affectionately.

But then Ichigo pulled away as she said, "Okay, let's eat! I want to see what you think of the food; Goro and Zero Two helped me make everything."

Ikuno smiled and allowed herself to be pulled by the hand the short distance to the picnic blanket. She was still unable to believe that Ichigo had done all of this just for _her_. Ikuno felt her heart bloom with the love she felt for Ichigo, its warmth spreading throughout her entire body; the date hadn't even really begun, and it was already the best day of her life.

Once they reached the blanket, the girls sat side by side, close enough to the log at the top of the blanket to lean on it. Ichigo picked up one of the steaming plastic containers and handed it to Ikuno. She followed it with a napkin, which Ikuno spread out on her lap, and finally a fork.

Ikuno made sure to thank Ichigo as she handed over each item. She noted that the container in her hands was still warm to the touch; Ichigo must have finished preparing this meal fairly recently. As Ikuno went to pull off the lid, she noticed Ichigo trying to watch her without being too obvious. Smiling, Ikuno proceeded.

The steam that had clouded the inside of the container began to spill upwards into the warm night air. The smell greeted Ikuno first; sweet yet tangy, and extremely familiar. Looking at the container's contents, she felt a wide smile involuntarily spread across her face as her suspicions were confirmed: delicate slices of fish sat atop a pile of steamed rice, all of it glazed with a sweet-smelling, dark-colored sauce. Ikuno wondered if Ichigo knew that this was one of her favorite dishes.

Addressing the girl in question, she said, "Ichigo, this smells _incredible_. And it's one of my favorite meals; how did you know?"

Ichigo blushed as she looked away, an embarrassed smile making its way onto her features. She said quietly, "I remembered..."

 _She...she remembered?_ Ikuno felt her cheeks color yet again, and decided that, no matter how cute it looked on Ichigo, both girls had blushed way too many times over the course of the last week.

But, once again looking at Ikuno with expectant eyes, Ichigo leaned forward in her spot next to her, waiting for her date to take the first bite. Ikuno obliged, using her fork to spear a small slice of fish and a clump of rice. Ensuring that the sauce had a healthy presence, Ikuno brought the fork to her mouth and took the first bite.

Instantly, the familiar, delicious taste of the dish exploded across her taste buds. She closed her eyes, letting the flavors wash over her. Chewing slowly to savor it, Ikuno emitted a pleased, " _Mmm_..." after she finally swallowed.

Ichigo watched her with big eyes and a bright smile.

Ikuno shifted into a mock-contemplative pose as she brought a hand up to cup her chin and let out an exaggerated, " _Hmmm…_."

Ichigo smiled and rolled her eyes as she half-whined, " _Ikunooo_."

Ikuno chuckled, then said, "Ichigo, I honestly think that this might be the best that this dish has ever tasted."

A wide smile curved its way onto the smaller girl's features, "You really mean that?"

Ikuno nodded, "Yes, I do. But why don't you find out for yourself?" She gestured to the unopened container in Ichigo's hands.

She nodded and quickly opened it, then repeated as Ikuno had done and took a delicate first bite. Almost instantly her eyes grew wide, and after she thoroughly chewed the food and swallowed it, she could only manage to say, " _Wow_."

Ikuno smiled and nodded. "You said Goro and Zero Two helped you make this?"

Ichigo said, "Yeah; really it was Goro who helped me with this part of the meal. Zero Two was mostly responsible for the sauce and the cookies, though."

After another bite, Ikuno chuckled, "Well it's definitely delicious, but I really didn't think Zero Two even knew how to cook."

Ichigo laughed in response, "Honestly, neither did I. I just figured I'd ask for her help, and it turns out that she's a natural - at least when it comes to sweets."

Eyeing the plate of cookies, Ikuno said, "Are you _sure_ that they're safe?"

Ichigo nodded sagely, "Yes, I think they are - Futoshi came around when we were baking them, and he wanted to come in, but Zero Two bribed him to go away with a cookie. Last I heard," she looked in the approximate direction of the boarding house, then lowered her voice and leaned in as if she were telling a secret, "he told Zero Two that it was one of the best cookies he's ever had."

Ikuno chuckled, then responded, "If he said that, then they really must be good. I'm excited to try them."

Ichigo nodded again, "Me too; I didn't get to try any earlier."

They fell into a relative silence after that, finishing the main dish over the next several minutes. Ikuno savored every bite, as this was probably – no, _definitely_ – the best meal she'd had in a long time. The fact that Ichigo had put in so much effort, and just for _her_ ; Ikuno knew that she was exactly where she was supposed to be right now.

Once they had both finished, Ichigo gathered up the now-empty containers and placed them in the basket. Then she pulled the plate of cookies to within easy reaching distance. They each took one, then hesitated.

Ichigo gestured to Ikuno, "You can go first; I want to know what you think."

Ikuno nodded, "All right." She lifted the baked treat to her lips, then took a medium-sized bite; enough to get a good taste of the cookie, but not so much as to look like she was wolfing it down.

Instantly, she was hit with delicious flavor: the chocolate chunks were rich and deep, and the cookie itself was soft and tasted vaguely of vanilla and what might have been a slight hint of salt. Lost for a moment in Zero Two's ridiculously good creation, Ikuno was unable to hold back as she let out a blissful, " _Ohhh_." After another bite and a couple more noises of appreciation, she finally regained enough of her senses to say, "Ichigo, this is – Futoshi was right – this is without a doubt the best cookie I've _ever_ had."

Ichigo beamed. Inside, she got the same feeling she felt when she completed a mission in the most efficient and satisfying way possible – with some help in this case, of course. She had been so stressed over whether or not the meal would be a success, she hadn't really been able to relax the entire day. Now that it was over, all she and Ikuno had was time to do just that: relax. Ichigo sighed contentedly; so far, tonight had gone even better than she had hoped.

* * *

Back at the boardinghouse, everyone had just gotten settled into their spots at the dining table, eager to eat their dinner. After Goro and Mitsuru had passed out everyone's plates and gotten settled themselves, Hiro was the first to note that two members of their squad were missing.

Looking around at everyone else at the table, he said, "Hey, has anyone seen Ichigo or Ikuno?"

Most either shook their head or shrugged, while Goro tried to inconspicuously catch Zero Two's eyes. Giving him a minute nod in acknowledgement, she snaked an arm around Hiro's side and began to nuzzle his shoulder. She said in a sweet voice, "Darling, I'm sure they're fine. Now hurry and eat your dinner so that we can go back to our room and _snuggle_."

Everyone groaned in response to Zero Two's unabashed affections, while a burning blush colored Hiro's cheeks. He coughed, then immediately began to eat, seeming to be going at a pace just a tad faster than normal.

Internally, Goro sighed in relief. He returned a small nod to Zero Two, and she smiled.

What neither noticed, however, was Zorome, who had watched the entire exchange.

* * *

Ichigo sighed as she leaned back against the log, folding her hands behind her head for support. Looking over to Ikuno, she said, "It's such a beautiful night, isn't it?"

Ikuno nodded, "It really is." She shifted so that she was leaning against the log as well, mirroring Ichigo's position. Observing the night sky, she said, "The stars look especially bright tonight."

Ichigo smiled, "Yeah; I've always loved looking at the stars." Her tone shifted to one of reminiscence, "Hiro taught me about them, back at the Garden. I was so fascinated by just the idea that – besides our own – there were these big balls of energy floating around, so far away in space."

Ikuno almost responded, but decided against it. It sounded like Ichigo had more to say, and Ikuno didn't want to interrupt her train of thought.

And indeed, Ichigo continued, "My favorite thing about the stars are the constellations. Natural works of art, there in the sky for everyone to see." She turned her head to look at the girl sitting beside her, "Do you know about the constellations, Ikuno?"

Ikuno shrugged, "I know a little bit, but I'm not as familiar as I would like to be, actually." It wasn't exactly a lie, as she hadn't really spent an extended amount of time studying them, but she knew the basics. Still, she liked the idea of Ichigo talking about something she knew more than Ikuno about. Turning to face Ichigo, she said, "Why don't you tell me about them?"

Ichigo smiled, then faced the sky once more. Once she saw that Ikuno was looking upwards as well, she began to point at various points across the star-scape as she spoke, "Well, there's the Big Dipper; it's called that because it's shaped like a big pot." Ikuno made a noise of understanding, and Ichigo continued, "And there, above it, is the Little Dipper. It's called that because it looks like a smaller version of the Big Dipper."

Ikuno nodded; she did remember reading about both constellations somewhere, but after that things began to get hazy.

And then," Ichigo moved her hand in an indistinct shape, "if you follow some of the stars around the Big Dipper, you'll see it's actually a part of a larger constellation: Ursa Major, or the Great Bear."

It took Ikuno a few moments to pick out the right stars, but once she had, she couldn't help but smile as she recognized that the stars created a shape vaguely resembling a bear. Which reminded her of one of the things she had read herself, all those years ago. Pointing above Ursa Major, Ikuno said, "And the Little Dipper is Ursa Minor, right?"

Ichigo turned to her in surprise, "That's right! How'd you know that?"

With a smirk and a shrug, Ikuno responded, "I told you, I know a little bit about constellations."

Ichigo chuckled, "Okay, here's a tough one then, what's special about the last star in the Little Dipper?" She pointed at the tail-end of the stars, indicating the brightest star in the night sky.

Ikuno stared at the bright pinpoint of light, trying to dust off the information just barely hidden in her mind. After a few more moments of thought, a burst of realization hit her and she exclaimed excitedly, "The last star in the handle is the North Star!"

Ichigo smiled and clapped, "That's right! Okay, now here's one I _know_ you won't get."

Ikuno crossed her arms and gave Ichigo a mock-accusatory glare. "Is that so? Try me."

A predatory smirk curled its way onto Ichigo's lips as she said, "All right, what's the fifteenth star in the constellation of Orion?"

Ikuno continued to smile back at Ichigo even as she thought for a few moments and realized that she had absolutely no idea. Wracking her brain, she came up with just the names of the first two stars, but nothing else. Finally, she chuckled good-naturedly as she shrugged and said, "You win; I don't know the answer."

Ichigo giggled, "That's because it was a trick question."

Ikuno raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

Ichigo turned to face her, resting an arm between her head and the log. Ikuno rolled onto her side to face her, as well. Regaining that reminiscent tone, Ichigo said, "Back when Hiro taught me all about space and stars and constellations, it scared me at first, thinking that we were so small and that there was so much…well, _space_ out there. I told Hiro how I felt, and I'll always remember what he told me."

Wondering what he could have said, Ikuno asked, "What did he say?"

Ichigo smiled to herself, not looking at Ikuno. For some reason, that look sent a jolt of what felt like jealousy through Ikuno's chest, but just as quickly she admonished herself mentally. _She's on a date with_ me _, there's no reason to feel that way_.

Still smiling, Ichigo continued, "He told me how Orion is visible no matter where you are in the world, and that there was a secret, fifteenth star in the constellation that didn't have a name. So, he said that we would call it the Ichigo star, so that no matter how small I felt, I would always know that I was a part of something permanent in the night sky, and that it would never disappear."

Ikuno blinked and felt…sad? Grateful? She didn't like the idea of Ichigo being scared; in fact, just the thought of it made her want to hold and protect the smaller girl. But at the same time then, she felt grateful to Hiro for providing care and comfort to the girl. A thought struck her, and she said, "Is that…is that when you knew?"

Ichigo finally met her eyes as she responded, "Knew what?"

Ikuno cleared her throat, part of her feeling awkward about her question. Nonetheless she forged on, "How you felt about him."

A slight blush colored Ichigo's cheeks as she responded, "Oh. Maybe? There were a lot of things back then that made me feel that way. But I know better now; I think I just wanted some guidance where we didn't really have any, and Hiro provided that for me. But when he couldn't pilot, and he got really depressed, I had to step up; take his place as leader."

Looking Ikuno in the eye now, she continued, "I think it was at that point that I thought he and I switched places. I wanted to take care of him and provide that solid figure for him to hold on to like he did for me, but I wasn't really the one he needed."

Ikuno whispered, "Zero Two."

Ichigo nodded, "Yeah. She gave him the one thing he really needed: someone to help him fly."

She became quiet after that, seeming to be contemplating something. Ikuno watched her, content to allow her to work through her thoughts. Several long moments passed before Ichigo finally continued, "I'm happy for him. He found the one he's supposed to be with, and they're happy together." Perking up somewhat, she looked to Ikuno again and smiled, "But I'm grateful to both of them as well."

Unsure of what she meant, Ikuno asked, "Grateful to them for…?"

That blush came back to Ichigo's cheeks. She reached out and grasped one of Ikuno's hands as she said, "If it hadn't been for Zero Two claiming Hiro for herself, I don't know if I would have ever grown out of my silly childhood crush," she ran her thumb up and down the back of Ikuno's hand, "and found you, Ikuno."

Ikuno's breath caught in her throat, and she felt her heartrate pick up. Ichigo was giving her a look that she distinctly felt called for only one response, but even thinking of it made a lance of nervous energy fire through her chest. So, as Ichigo began to slowly shift forward and lean closer to Ikuno, Ikuno sat bolt-upright and exclaimed one word: "Hair!"

Ichigo stopped and gave her a puzzled look. "'Hair?'"

Ikuno nodded emphatically up and down, "Yes, um, I would like to repay you for the delicious meal and dessert by doing that thing I do sometimes when we do each other's hair."

Ichigo looked slightly confused and, Ikuno regretfully noted, _disappointed_. It just…Ikuno knew that she wanted to do what Ichigo had tried to initiate, but for some reason, a part of her was scared. Scared to engage in the act that at once was both seemingly innocent and yet meant a permanent change in their relationship. The thought of it made her heart race in a way she wasn't used to. She just needed…time. Yes, some time to digest it as something that was going to happen. And she would get that by stalling and doing Ichigo's hair.

After a few moments, Ichigo smiled again and nodded. "Sure, Ikuno! I can't say no to that." And then she shuffled so that she sat in front of Ikuno, giving her easy access to her hair.

Ikuno took a deep breath to settle herself, then began to gently run her fingers through Ichigo's short locks. There wasn't much she could do with short hair, and in all honesty, Ikuno wasn't even that good at 'doing hair' anyway; that's why she always chose to keep hers simply held together with her large butterfly clip. But she was used to Ichigo's hair, as she often found herself responsible for the squad leader's locks during the nighttime get-togethers that all of the girls had from time to time.

After making sure that there were no miniature knots in Ichigo's hair, Ikuno began to apply a light pressure with her fingertips, and Ichigo let out a contented, " _Mmm_. Ikuno, that feels great."

Ikuno wordlessly continued for the next couple of minutes, until she began to feel the muscles in her fingers beginning to tire. Pulling away and flexing them, she said, "All right, I think that's as much as I can do for now."

Ichigo turned to her and smiled, "Thanks for that, Ikuno; it felt really good. Want me to do you, now?"

Ikuno blushed as she said, "Uh, sure. All right."

Ichigo smiled sweetly in acknowledgement. Then they both shuffled and switched positions. With her back to Ichigo, Ikuno reached behind her head and removed her hairclip, releasing her mid-length hair from its confines. Just as she turned to place the clip off to the side, a gentle breeze picked up, and she felt her hair begin to wave along with it. After depositing her clip, she shifted back into a sitting position. As she did so however, she noticed Ichigo staring at her, mouth slightly agape.

Unsure of what Ichigo saw, she turned towards her and asked, "What is it, Ichigo? Is something wrong?"

The blue-haired girl immediately closed her mouth, an embarrassed look crossing her face as she realized that she must have had an obvious dumbstruck look. "I just…well, you're so pretty, Ikuno." Her cheeks colored even more than they already had as she added hastily, "Especially with your hair down like that, in the wind."

Ikuno felt the heat in her cheeks as she responded, "Oh, well, thanks." Feeling that she should respond, Ikuno said truthfully, "For the record, I think you're very pretty, too."

Ichigo giggled as she said, "Thanks, Ikuno." She opened her mouth to say something else, but then her gaze shifted upwards, just as Ikuno saw the reflection of some kind of light streak across the back of one of the lenses of her glasses. Turning from Ichigo to look up into the night sky, Ikuno was surprised to see scattered streaks of thin, white lights erupting into existence, only to fly across the sky and disappear just as suddenly.

Crawling forward to sit next to her, Ichigo whispered, " _Shooting stars_."

Ikuno felt Ichigo's hand gently lay on top of hers, and turned her head to look at the girl next to her. Ichigo whispered, "Hiro told me something about shooting stars, too."

"And what was it," Ikuno quietly responded. But she wasn't fully aware of her surroundings; of the forest, the lake, or the streaks of light signifying the burning-up of tiny flecks of debris from space as they entered the Earth's atmosphere. Instead, she was captivated by Ichigo's beautiful features, illuminated by the pale light of the moon and stars reflecting off of her upturned face; her shining, emerald eyes seeming to capture and hold all of the beauty of space in those two, entrancing orbs. In that moment, Ikuno knew: she loved Ichigo, and Ichigo alone.

Still looking at the sky, Ichigo said, "You're supposed to make a wish when you see a shooting star." She closed her eyes for a few moments, and when she opened them, she turned to Ikuno with a smile.

"Did you wish for something?" She smiled, eyebrows slightly raised in curiosity.

Any of the nervousness Ikuno had felt earlier had been replaced by a calm sureness. With a new, unwavering confidence, she said, "No. The only wish I've had for my entire life has already been granted."

And she leaned in and pressed her lips to Ichigo's.

She closed her eyes, wanting to solely focus on the sensation of the kiss. She felt Ichigo tense for just a moment in surprise, but then she relaxed, responding by applying her own, gentle pressure back.

Ikuno had never kissed anyone before, but if this was how it always felt, she didn't know if she could ever get enough. A feeling caught in her chest that made her feel as if her insides could sing in joy, and the feeling of her lips against Ichigo's made her entire body feel like one giant, sensitive nerve. Feeling as if she was beginning to suffocate with no air however, she had to pull away and drink in some oxygen.

Ichigo gasped as well, her cheeks just as flushed as Ikuno imagined her own were, from how warm they felt. After a few moments of silence passed between them, Ikuno said, "I'm sorry if that was abrupt, Ichigo, but I…I love you. I always have."

An enormous smile curved its way onto Ichigo's features as she said, "Ikuno, I love you too."

She said it. She had really said it. Ichigo loved her. Ikuno felt herself grinning like an idiot, but she didn't care. More for herself than anything, she said, "Really?"

Ichigo nodded over and over again as she laughed and said, "Yes, yes I love you, Ikuno!"

Ikuno pulled her into a tight hug, which Ichigo reciprocated. "Ichigo," Ikuno said, "I'm so, unbelievably happy right now."

Ichigo pressed her nose into Ikuno's shoulder and took a dep breath before responding, "Me, too, Ikuno; me, too."

A few moments passed as they continued to embrace each other, content to simply hold one another. Then, Ichigo whispered, "Come on, let's watch the rest of the show."

Still smiling, Ikuno nodded silently, and they moved back so that they could lean against the log at the top of the blanket. Ichigo shifted so that she sat flush against Ikuno's side, and rested her head on Ikuno's shoulder. Ikuno held her hand lovingly, and both girls settled in to watch the celestial display before them.

As they watched, Ikuno didn't even try to process what had just happened between her and Ichigo. For once, she was content to simply enjoy the here and now, and leave the contemplating for later. She began to gently stroke Ichigo's hand with her thumb, and without really thinking about it, she leaned over and kissed the top of Ichigo's head. This was, without a doubt, the best day of her entire life.

They stayed like that for a long time, and without even realizing it, they both eventually closed their eyes, slipping into a relaxed, comfortable sleep.


	7. Chapter 7 - The Secret's Out

The next morning, Ichigo awoke to the early-morning sounds of the forest around them: birds chirping, insects and other bugs chittering, and the wind gently rustling leaves and the surface of the lake. There was a soft pressure wrapped loosely around Ichigo's stomach and sides, as well as pressed up against her back. Belatedly, she realized that it was Ikuno, who had shifted to hold her at some point after they had fallen asleep. Ichigo smiled; no one had ever held her like this, and for it to be Ikuno just felt _right_. She remained still, enjoying the embrace and listening to Ikuno's soft breathing.

A short while later, the pressure against Ichigo's back shifted, and Ikuno let out a contented yawn. Her arm lifting from Ichigo as Ikuno stretched, Ichigo took the opportunity to turn around so that she was facing her... Friend? Darling? Ichigo didn't know what to call Ikuno, now that they were together like this. But, she decided, that was something they could discuss with each other later. Smiling, Ichigo whispered, "Hey, you."

Ikuno wasn't wearing her glasses, so there was nothing between her face and Ichigo's as she smiled and whispered back, "Hey."

Both girls blushed in their proximity to one another, and Ichigo only managed to last a few more seconds before she darted forward and quickly pecked Ikuno's lips. Ikuno giggled, and it was music to Ichigo's ears.

Then Ikuno got a devious grin and whispered, "You know, I don't think I felt that one."

A smile of her own spread across Ichigo's lips, and she whispered back, "Well, as your squad leader, I need to make sure that all of my messages are crystal-clear." She leaned in again and caught Ikuno's lips on her own, this time reveling in the pressure and movements of their mouths pressing against each other, lasting for longer than before.

They had to eventually pull apart for air, but almost immediately they were back at it again. Ikuno wrapped her arms around Ichigo again and pulled her tightly against herself, causing the smaller girl to emit an adorable squeak.

Everything around her was muted; all Ichigo could feel was Ikuno holding her, body pressed up against her, arms wrapped around and holding her; all she could smell was Ikuno, a scent she couldn't get enough of; all she could taste was Ikuno on her lips, and the little, random swipes of tongue against her own.

A feeling settled in Ichigo's...stomach? No, it felt distinctly...lower? All Ichigo knew was that she wanted to keep kissing Ikuno, to press against her as much as possible.

At some point, however, both girls needed to breathe, and so they pulled apart once again.

And as they lay there, gasping, Ichigo heard it: a distinct rustling in a bush at the forests' edge, out of time with the rest of the gently undulating vegetation. Instantly, Ichigo turned her head to listen, trying to see if she heard it again.

Next to her, most likely picking up on either the sound or Ichigo's sudden alertness, Ikuno whispered, "What is it?"

Ichigo shook her head, then mouthed silently, ' _I don't know_.'

The atmosphere had shifted to one of wary caution, both girls prepared to defend themselves against whatever unknown thing was in the underbrush.

Ichigo held a finger up to her lips, and a few seconds later, they both heard more rustling. Looking around, they waited, and finally Ichigo saw a bush far to their left shake gently, out of sync with the rest of the foliage surrounding it.

Motioning for Ikuno to follow her, Ichigo slowly stood – a part of her wanted to just ignore whatever it was and go back to kissing Ikuno – and began to creep towards the bush, which Ichigo noted had distinctly _stopped_ moving. After about thirty seconds, they stood right in front of it, watching and waiting. When it remained still, the girls looked to one another. They nodded, then proceeded to quickly place their hands on the bush and push the piece of foliage out of the way.

And sitting there, face beet-red, was Zorome. He looked back at them, mouth hanging wide open and a look of abject horror spreading on his face.

Ichigo flung a hand to her mouth in shock. She didn't know how to react; she was furious that the boy had so obviously been spying on them and was worried about what he would tell the others.

Next to her, Ikuno's hands balled into fists. She growled out, "What. Were. You. Doing. _CREEP!_ "

Seeking to regain some control over himself, Zorome hastily stood, brushing dirt off of his uniform as he did so. He opened his mouth as if to speak, looked back and forth between Ichigo and Ikuno for a couple of silent seconds, and promptly turned and sped off at top-speed.

Ichigo yelled, "Hey, wait!" But it was too late; they heard the sounds of Zorome retreating through the underbrush, back towards the house.

The girls looked to one another. They both know that if he made it back there, then he would tell the rest of the squad about what he had seen, and they weren't sure if they were ready for that.

They raced after the boy. About two minutes passed, and it was becoming clear that they wouldn't be able to catch up to him. Both girls were fit, but Zorome was small and agile, and had more energy than the entire squad combined.

They broke through the line of trees and ended up in the clearing where Zorome had retreated when he stole Miku's diary. Ichigo could see the boy; he had almost made it to the other side of the clearing. Next to her, with a burst of speed, Ikuno sped up. The taller girl was gaining ground.

Zorome didn't look back as he crashed back into the trees, the last barrier between him and the house. Ikuno followed not a second later, now almost on him. Ichigo brought up the rear, already going as fast as she could manage.

On the other side of the trees, Zorome zoomed to the front door of the house. Just as he opened it, Ikuno caught up to him. Ichigo watched as Ikuno shouted something incoherent and launched herself at the boy; she slammed into him from behind in a tackle, their momentum taking them through the entranceway. They disappeared into the interior of the house.

Just a few seconds later, Ichigo reached the door herself and followed them in. She stopped short, however, at the sight that greeted her: just inside of the entryway, Ikuno was on top of Zorome, holding him down on his stomach, flat on the ground. Beyond them, the rest of the squad looked on with expressions that ranged from confused to worried. Well, except for Zero Two, who had an arm around Hiro and simply watched, smirking.

After taking stock of the situation (and catching her breath), Ichigo reached out to Ikuno, giving her a hand and helping her into a standing position. Luckily, Ikuno didn't give any resistance, as Ichigo was worried that Ikuno had been ready to quite literally kill the boy beneath her.

Zorome groaned and shifted into a sitting position, legs sprawled out before him. Immediately, Miku rushed forward and crouched next to him, inspecting her partner for injury. Satisfied that he was all right, she looked up to Ikuno with flames in her eyes. She growled, "Why did you do that? You could have _hurt_ him!"

She wrapped her arms around the boy in a tight, protective hug; Zorome grunted and his eyes bulged from the pressure. It seemed that the hug was doing more damage than Ikuno's tackle. He lightly slapped at her arms as he grunted out, " _CAN'T_. _BREATHE_."

Ikuno angrily shot back at Miku, "We caught him being a creep and _SPYING_ on us!"

Miku looked at Ikuno quizzically as she slightly released the pressure on the boy in her arms. Instantly, Zorome gasped for breath, coughing. Some of the heat dissipating from her tone, she asked, "Spying on you doing _what_?"

Kokoro spoke up from her spot on one of the couches, next to Mitsuru, "We were all wondering where both of you went last night."

Hiro nodded and added, "We were worried."

Ikuno's eyes widened, the realization coming too late that she had essentially said that she and Ichigo had been together the night before. Just the two of them. Alone. Trying to recover, she spluttered, "Um, well, we were...were..." She trailed off, no lies or excuses coming to her.

Seeing that the situation was quickly falling apart, Ichigo made an executive decision. She turned to Ikuno, caught her gaze with her own, then raised her eyebrows. Ikuno knew what she was suggesting. For a moment, it seemed as if she would protest, but then her shoulders sagged minutely. Ikuno looked away, then back again. She assented with a small smile and nod, and Ichigo responded with a smile of her own. She reached out and caught Ikuno's hand in her own.

Futoshi had a perplexed look on his face as he regarded them questioningly, "Uh, guys...?"

Ichigo gave Ikuno's hand a squeeze, and Ikuno squeezed back. Ichigo had thought that she would have been a nervous wreck in this situation, and that it would go very differently. But in this moment, a sense of calm strength spread throughout her body, beginning at her hand interlocked with Ikuno's, and growing from there until it filled her all the way up. She wondered if Ikuno felt the same thing. Somehow, she had a feeling that Ikuno did.

A smile growing on her face, Ichigo looked to Ikuno one last time, and the other girl nodded again, as if to say, _Go on_. After one last deep breath, Ichigo said, "Well...last night, Ikuno and I weren't at dinner because..." she giggled, a slight blush spreading on her cheeks, "...because we were on a date, by ourselves."

Almost everyone looked confused. In the back of the room, Goro smiled to himself, happy for the new couple; that Ichigo had found love.

Nearby, Zero Two simply nodded at Hiro next to her, who quickly looked back and forth between the two girls near the entrance to the room and the horned-girl. She whispered, "That was the secret."

A moment passed, then Futoshi spoke up again, "But...what's a 'date?'"

Zero Two exasperatedly supplied the answer yet again, "A date is when two people who care deeply about one another spend time with each other to explore and solidify their relationship."

Futoshi took a moment to process this information, then his eyes widened, "Wait, but then that means..." He looked to the two girls, still holding hands at the front of the room.

Ichigo nodded, confirming Futoshi's unspoken question. "We didn't want to tell you guys before because, honestly, we weren't even sure about it ourselves at the time. And," she added, "we weren't sure how you'd all take it."

Next to her, Ikuno fidgeted. Ichigo gently stroked her hand with her thumb, and instantly Ikuno calmed. The taller girl shifted so that most of her arm was pressed against Ichigo's, which served to comfort them both.

Several long seconds passed in silence. At some point, Miku helped Zorome to his feet. They remained standing. Remained silent.

Goro looked at everyone else, gauging their responses to this development. When no one spoke further, he decided to take it upon himself to begin. He first cleared his throat to get everyone's attention, then said, "I think it's fantastic that you've begun a relationship together. If you're happy, then so am I."

Another moment of silence passed, then Zero Two said, "Yeah, I'm happy for you two. Enjoy what you have," she tightened her arm around Hiro, "and never let your Darling go."

Hiro, having finally gotten over his surprise, said with a growing smile, "What Zero Two said; I'm really happy for you guys." He punctuated his statement with an affirmative nod.

Then Kokoro said, "I think it's beautiful that the two of you are in love." She smiled sweetly.

Both Ichigo and Ikuno blushed at that.

Next to Kokoro, Mitsuru said, "I'd say it was about time, Ikuno." He nodded at his former partner, who flashed a small smile as she nodded back.

A determined look in his eye, Futoshi jumped to stand on his chair, placed his hands on his hips, and said in a loud, declarative voice, "This is great news and congratulations to both of you!"

Everyone laughed in response.

With her free hand, Ichigo reached up and wiped away some of the happy tears beginning to gather at the corners of her eyes. Looking over at Ikuno, Ichigo saw that she was holding her glasses with her free hand and using her knuckles to rub away some tears of her own.

Miku's anger over her Zorome getting tackled seeming to have mostly dissipated in the face of Ichigo's and Ikuno's admission, Miku said, "That's great news, congrats."

And finally, Zorome. He looked at the ground guiltily, then at Ichigo and Ikuno, then almost immediately back at the ground again. He mumbled something, too quietly for either girl to hear.

Ikuno leaned forward and said, "What was that, Zorome? Speak up." She was too relieved and happy to even try and sound threatening.

Nonetheless, he coughed guiltily, then looked up and made sure to maintain alternating eye-contact with both girls. "I'm sorry I was spying on you; at first I just wanted to know what you were doing, but when I saw the two of you kissing and-"

Next to him, Miku yelled, " _WAIT_. _WHAT_?! You guys were _KISSING_?!"

Ichigo chuckled, "Well, yeah. You of all people should know, that's what people who love each other do, right?"

Ikuno's hand squeezed her own at the word 'love.' Ichigo squeezed back.

Miku looked to Zorome with a blush, then silently nodded at Ichigo's response.

Both Ichigo and Ikuno chuckled at Miku's sudden bashfulness, then Ichigo addressed the guilty boy, "Zorome, we accept your apology."

Ikuno added, "Just don't do it again, okay?"

He nodded, then in a flash, both girls were crushed in a tight hug as Zorome wailed, "Thank-you-for-understanding-and-I'm-so-happy-for-you-guys!" In response, everyone began to laugh once again, and a general sense of joviality spread throughout the room.

As everyone took turns hugging and once again congratulating the new couple (Ikuno made sure to give Goro and Zero Two uncharacteristically tight hugs as she thanked them for all of their help), Ichigo thought to herself an echo of something Ikuno had said a while back: _I wouldn't mind if things stayed like this forever_.

Then she and Ikuno were pulled into a bear hug by Futoshi, and both girls couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

Far away, in a private office somewhere in the massive Bird's Nest facility, an elderly man with several cybernetic upgrades leaned back in his chair, watching the events at the boardinghouse unfold from a variety of angles on the large, wall-mounted monitors before him. Stroking his lengthy white mustache, he watched as the Parasites of his experimental Squad 13 responded to the new development with Codes 015 and 196.

It was truly fascinating. He had had so many hopes for this squad, for them to regain the emotions and free-thinking that humanity had given up in exchange for immortality so long ago; that the other Parasites were denied due to the inhibitors with which they were treated at the Garden. And now, the members of Squad 13 were pairing off, pursuing relationships built on love and trust; not just the partnership they were thrust into in order to serve a role in their forefathers' war.

His plan was coming to fruition _._ For the first time in a very, very long time, Werner Frank felt hope; hope for an end to this ridiculous conflict and an end to the rule of a maniac and his puppets.

His private communicator beeped, signaling a new message. Activating the device, he saw that the message came on the hidden channel; the one he had painstakingly set up to function outside of APE monitoring.

 _ **Cmdr Hachi**_ : I assume you're watching this.

 _ **DF**_ : Yes.

 _ **Cmdr Hachi**_ : Should we intervene?

 _ **DF**_ : No. Let them be; I want to observe this development further. Let it play out.

Without another word, ' _Cmdr. Hachi Offline_ ' popped up under Werner's last message. He knew the man didn't mean any disrespect; it was just his way of leaving a discussion where everything that needed saying had been said. The doctor respected Hachi's efficiency and understanding, even though Werner still hadn't fully explained the whole truth of the situation to him.

 _The time will come, soon_ , he thought to himself.

Watching for just a little while longer, he eventually turned away from the monitors and stood. With the aid of his cane, he shuffled over to one of his many filing cabinets began to rifle through physical copies of his old notes; many from the time of the original FranXX projects. After a few minutes of searching, he found what he had been looking for.

He made his way back to his desk and sat, groaning as his remaining organic joints protested, radiating in aching pain. Placing the aged manila folder down in front of him, once more he read over the words printed across its front: ' _PROJECT: FRANXX S-S PILOT DEVICE_.' Even though his jaw had long ago been replaced with a cybernetic enhancement, Werner Frank's features shifted into what might have been a smile.


	8. Chapter 8 - The Game

**AN: Hey guys, this chap shifts focus to some of the other members of Squad 13; basically, I had an idea for a fun sequence and wanted to write it. So, there's just a little bit of a change to the facilities of the boarding house to accommodate that. You'll see it when you get there, and I hope it's not too ridiculous of an addition.**

* * *

 _Small. Scared. Alone._

 _Too-bright lights in a too-large room._

 _Frightened, she ran from wall to wall, looking for a way out._

 _Minutes passed, and still she was trapped. Her fear reached new heights._

 _Then a door opened, and_ they _entered; the scary ones – the doctors. They cornered her, reached for her, their hands wrapped around her and no matter how much she struggled, there was no escape. Finally losing all control, she screamed-_

-and Ikuno sat bolt-upright in her bed, gasping for breath. She blinked rapidly as she slowly regained her senses. Quickly looking back and forth around her, she realized that she was not in the brightly-lit, sterile white room, but instead in her dark bedroom, the only light coming in the form of pale moonlight streaming through the window.

Taking a few more shuddering breaths, Ikuno felt herself soaked in cold sweat, her nightgown sticking to her cold, clammy skin. She sat there for a several long moments, trying to regain a normal rate of breathing in the darkened room.

Next to her, there was a small moan. Still deeply snuggled into her spot on the bed, Ichigo groggily whispered up to her bedmate, "Ik'no, it's still dark. Wha's wrong?"

Looking down at her, Ikuno slowly shook her head, though she doubted that Ichigo had even opened her eyes to see from how sleepy she sounded. Eventually, she sighed and responded, "Sorry, it was nothing; just a bad dream."

Ichigo reached up with one hand and gently tugged on Ikuno's arm, and the dark-haired girl allowed herself to be pulled back down to their shared pillow. Ichigo wrapped a protective arm and leg around the taller girl, apparently not caring that Ikuno was somewhat damp. She pressed her face into Ikuno's shoulder and whispered, "Well I'm here, and I won't let anything bad happen to you."

Ikuno smiled, patted the arm Ichigo had laying across her midsection. "Thanks, Ichi." She kissed Ichigo's hair, taking a moment to breath in the girl's calming scent. Once she finally felt calm again, she closed her eyes. Pushing the dream fully from her mind, Ikuno began to reflect on a few hours earlier, when both she and Ichigo had initially gotten into bed.

Following the events of that morning, when everyone in the squad had found out about Ikuno and Ichigo's new relationship, the rest of the day had somehow managed to progress almost normally. Breakfast was served as per usual by Goro and Mitsuru, everyone had gone and done their chores, they had lunch, and then the rest of the day had been full of leisure activities followed by dinner. The only difference was that the newest couple found every reason to maintain some level of bodily contact throughout the day, whether it had been sitting with their seats pressed up right next to each other at meals, or constantly bumping shoulders and hands while they cleaned.

Then night rolled around. After getting ready for sleep, they got into their respective beds as they had always done. Ikuno said goodnight, Ichigo responded in kind, and Ikuno blew out the candle keeping their room lit. Then they had lain there in silence, waiting for sleep to overtake them. After ten minutes had passed, Ikuno heard a shuffling, and then Ichigo padded over and whispered, "Hey, slide over."

Ikuno had smiled and complied even as she asked, "What are you doing, Ichigo?"

The smaller girl responded in what might have been an indignant and possibly embarrassed tone, "My feet are cold." And without another word she had climbed into the spot next to Ikuno and molded her back against Ikuno's front, pulling the taller girl's arms to wrap around her.

Ikuno gasped when Ichigo's feet made contact with her own. "Your feet are freezing!" she had exclaimed.

Ichigo had giggled and said, "I told you so," and finished settling in.

Ikuno had thought that she would feel embarrassed by this kind of close contact – in her _bed_ of all places, too! But instead, that warmth she had been feeling for the last few days returned to her chest, filling her with pleasant contentedness. It just felt _right_ to hold Ichigo like this. The girl fit in her arms perfectly! They both enjoyed the warmth of their embrace, and couldn't help but succumb to sleep soon after.

And here they were now, Ichigo clutching Ikuno as if she were a replacement for the stuffed animal Ichigo usually held in her arms while she slept. Ikuno inhaled, then exhaled. Thinking back to what had interrupted her sleep in the first place, she didn't even understand what the dream had been; what the contents had meant. She tried to reflect on it, on the room and the doctors, but she found that she was just too tired to give it a deep level of thought.

Next to her, Ichigo was already quietly snoring again, and it was probably the cutest thing Ikuno had ever heard. Pushing her thoughts about the dream away for now, she allowed Ichigo's slow, relaxed breathing wash over her, and it wasn't too long before she slipped back into the depths of sleep. She didn't dream again that night.

* * *

Zorome bounced the ball off of his forehead a few times, making it go as high as he could without hurting himself. He glanced over to Miku, who was sitting on the steps of the boarding house with Ichigo and Ikuno. The redhead was very obviously watching him, and she giggled when they made eye contact. Zorome flashed a smile at her, but then he nearly toppled over as he miscalculated when to bounce his head and instead had to struggle to catch the ball as it fell at an awkward angle. He heard Miku begin to cackle and he blushed in response.

His pride easily bruised, Zorome glanced around to see if anyone else had seen his little mishap. Kokoro and Mitsuru were seated a short distance away from the girls, enjoying a quiet discussion about who-knew-what; Goro, Futoshi, and Zero Two were nowhere to be found; and just then, Zorome saw Hiro making his way down the steps of the house.

 _Probably on his way to make out with his super-hot partner_ , he thought to himself. It was as he watched Hiro trip over an invisible rock and stumble before righting himself that an idea struck Zorome. "Hey, Hiro!" he waved as he called to the other boy, gesturing for him to come over.

Hiro ambled over before asking, "Yeah, Zorome? Need something?"

Zorome smiled as innocently as he could as he asked, "Hey, how about a game of one-on-one with me?" He gestured to the half-sized basketball court located just a short distance from the house. Maybe he could impress Miku by destroying one of the other boys at basketball.

Glancing over in the direction of the court, Hiro raised a skeptical eyebrow as he responded, "That's all right, Zorome; I'm sure you'll win, like usual. Thanks though!"

Zorome scrunched his eyes. Back at the Garden, all of the Parasites – or maybe just those in Squad 13, they really didn't know – had been trained in a variety of old sports games that had been popular across the world in the days before the klaxosaurs. The point of said training was so that the Parasites all had an enjoyable form of exercise that would keep them fit after leaving the Garden. Of course, not everyone elected to keep up with the exercise; case in point, Futoshi. But Zorome had always had an affinity for physical activities, and up until the battle at Gran Crevasse, Hiro had essentially been his punching bag in most sports games.

As the boy in question turned to leave, Zorome said in an unconvincing tone, "Wait! Um…uh, I'll go easy on you, I promise." And by 'easy,' he meant 'totally demolish.'

Hiro hesitated, "I don't know…."

Thinking somewhat frantically now, Zorome offered, "Fine, we can do partners, okay? How's that sound?"

Hiro seemed to consider it, glancing around at their squad mates scattered around the courtyard. When he finally looked back to Zorome, he appeared to suddenly focus on something behind the shorter boy, and smiled warmly.

"I'll be Darling's partner," a voice from behind Zorome volunteered.

And Zorome felt all of the blood drain from his face as he turned around and confirmed his fear: Zero Two stood there, hip cocked to the side and one perfect eyebrow raised, waiting for a response.

In a suddenly very cheerful voice that was totally at odds with his tone earlier, Hiro said, "That's a great idea, Zero Two! Zorome, let's do this!"

Zorome spun again, spluttering out, "N-now hold on, just you wait a second!" Everyone knew that Zero Two possessed inhuman strength and agility, and _Zorome_ knew that she most likely constituted an automatic win for Hiro.

But it was still fair, based on the rules. So, with a gulp, he slowly nodded. "Fine…she can be your partner."

Zero Two walked past Zorome and over to Hiro's side, where she first tied her hair into a long ponytail before bumping her partner with her arm, prompting Hiro to hold her hand.

Zorome had to think fast; he needed a partner who could match Zero Two's fire and tenacity – someone who was just as competitive as himself and would be a perfect partner for this contest of physical prowess and agility. Feeling just a little bit hopeful, he turned to the girls sitting on the steps to the house and addressed them, "Hey, guys!" They looked up at him, having stopped their conversation.

"What?" Ichigo replied.

Zorome scratched his neck, "Uh, Miku?"

The redhead who had captured his heart smiled and said, "Not happening! Good luck!"

He felt his jaw drop. "But…but…." But she turned away, picking up the conversation with Ichigo and Ikuno from wherever he had interrupted them.

Zorome turned to look over at the other boys, but saw that they would be no help; Futoshi had appeared and held what looked like an entire loaf of bread, while Mitsuru was still engaged in quiet conversation with Kokoro.

Desperation evident on his features, he turned back to Hiro and Zero Two. The slightly taller girl was nuzzling Hiro's neck while he chuckled and threw a small shrug at Zorome. But then, out of the forest behind the couple came Zorome's savior.

Goro was just returning from a solo fishing trip, looking pleased with his bounty. Zorome rushed up to him, almost knocking the taller boy over in the process. Desperation clear in his tone, he said, "Goro, you _have_ to help me, man!"

Goro chuckled at the boy's antics as he said, "With what, Zorome?"

The stupid fisherman didn't get it! Zorome reached up, grabbed Goro by his lapels, "You need to be my partner for basketball; I challenged Hiro to a two-on-two match but he chose _Zero Two_ as his partner! Miku won't be my partner and no one else has a hope of defending against Zero Two, except for _you_."

Goro raised an eyebrow. "Me?" he questioned.

Zorome nodded emphatically, "Yes, you! You're at least tall enough to try."

Goro looked doubtful, "I don't know…it's been a long time since I've played…."

"Here, let me take that," Zorome snatched all of Goro's equipment from the taller boy and _somewhat_ carefully deposited off to the side before Goro could react. Then he shoved the ball he had been carrying into Goro's hands and pointed at the basketball hoop. "You see that hoop and net, right?"

Knowing that his fish would stay fresh for a couple of hours at the least in his special container, Goro decided that he could go along with this, for the time being. He nodded and rolled his eyes, "Yes, Zorome. I see it, and I already know what the basket is, and that the ball goes into it."

The shorter boy replied haughtily, "I know you know, okay! I just want to make sure you know what you're doing." He took a breath, regaining his composure. "Okay then, Mr. Know-It-All, put the ball in the basket then."

Goro sighed and shook his head, then half-heartedly chucked the ball at the hoop. It hit the side of the backboard and ricocheted off to the side, bouncing a few times before it came to a rest at Zero Two's feet.

She picked up the ball and looked over at Zorome, piercing him with her cyan gaze. Still looking directly into his eyes and nowhere else, she nonchalantly shot the ball from where she stood, twenty feet from the basket. Zorome broke the eye contact just in time to see the ball _swish_ perfectly through the net. For the second time in as many minutes, he was speechless. She hadn't even been looking!

Zero Two smirked at him while Hiro just laughed at what must have been the look on Zorome's face. The wuss was laughing at him! Zorome felt his competitive blood begin to boil as he marched over to where the ball had fallen and brought it back over to Goro.

Shoving it roughly into his unwilling partner's hands, he thought briefly about simply berating the taller boy to just shoot better, but then another thought occurred to him. Through an ungodly amount of restraint, he managed to put on a somewhat patient-sounding tone as he said, "Hey Goro, maybe you're thinking of this the wrong way." Pointing at the basket again, he said, "Think of this as fishing."

Goro perked up at the mention of his favorite pastime, "How do you mean, Zorome?"

Fighting off the urge to yell ' _Isn't it obvious, stupid!'_ he instead said in a much calmer voice, "Think of the ball as your lure, your arm as the rod, and the hoop as the spot you want your lure to land in." He stepped back and mimed shooting the ball, "You're just casting into the net."

"Huh," was all Goro responded with. He looked at the basket again, and then with a determined look in his eye, he lifted the ball up in front of himself, and shot it with the aim and arc of someone who had spent many long days alone, perfecting their precision casting skills.

The ball _swished_ through the net, and Zorome released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Great job!" he cheered proudly.

There was a whistle from the side as Ichigo yelled, "Nice one, Goro!" Apparently, the girls were watching now.

With what might have been the smallest of blushes, Goro acknowledged her with a thumbs-up before he chuckled again, "You know, I almost felt like I was back at the Garden with one of the instructors for a second, there."

Zorome made a face, "Eugh! The day I become a teacher is the day I die." He struck a pose, "My life is all about action; about living in the moment!"

Goro said deadpan, "Uh huh. In any case, sure, I guess I can be your partner."

Zorome fist-pumped. "Awesome!"

Then Zero Two called over, "Are you two ready yet? This is gonna start cutting into my afternoon snuggle-time with Darling, soon."

As per usual, everyone groaned in response. But Zorome nodded anyway and said, "Yeah, let's do this!"

They quickly took their positions; after a quick match of rock-paper-scissors, it was decided that Zorome and Goro would have the ball first. So, Hiro and Zero Two stood with their backs to the basket, facing the other twosome. The two teams would switch who had the ball after each time a team scored a point, up until one team scored 21 points. Whomever did so first would be the winner.

Zorome passed the ball across from himself to Hiro, and he passed back, initiating the beginning of the round. Zorome smirked as he said, "Get ready to lose, wuss."

Hiro said, "We'll see about that, Zorome."

They didn't speak after that. Zorome dribbled the ball first with one hand, and then the other. He switched back and forth more and more rapidly as he watched Hiro try to keep up with the ball's position. Finally, he made as if to go to Hiro's right, and the dark-haired boy instantly moved in that direction as well in order to cut Zorome off from the basket, but that was exactly what Zorome had wanted. He immediately switched to go left, and Hiro tried to swerve to stay in front of him, but ended up stumbling and falling flat on his butt. Zorome easily sped around his fallen defender and to the hoop, laying the ball up and into the basket.

He turned around to gloat, but stopped as he watched Zero Two rush over to Hiro's side; he was still sitting on the ground, shaking.

She said worriedly, "Darling, is everything okay?"

Hiro turned to her, and that was when Zorome saw that he was laughing. Zorome released a sigh, and the small knot of momentary worry that had appeared in his stomach released.

Still chuckling, Hiro said, "Good move, Zorome. You'll have to _teach_ me that sometime."

With his obvious emphasis on the word 'teach,' Zorome shouted, "I already said I'm not a teacher!" He marched over to the ball, picked it up, and passed it angrily to a now-relieved Zero Two, who caught it easily. "Just get up off your ass and let's play!"

They quickly reset, this time with Zorome and Goro facing away from the basket. After the initial pass back-and-forth, Hiro began to dribble the ball, assessing the situation before him.

Thinking that he was distracted, Zorome swiped at the ball, hoping to come up with a steal. Instead, his hands met empty air. Before he had time to react, Hiro had lifted and chucked the ball over Zorome's head. Turning quickly to look, Zorome watched as the ball did _not_ go into the net, but rather sailed through the air to be caught by Zero Two, who had rushed past Goro and caught the ball midair, before slamming it into the basket with a two-handed dunk.

Both Zorome and Goro stood stock-still, stunned. Ichigo, Ikuno, and Miku all cheered for their fellow pistil. Zero Two casually flipped her ponytail with one hand as she passed by Zorome, smiling and giving him a wink as she handed him the ball.

They reset once again, and Goro whispered to him, "I think we should just concede now; there's no way we're going to win this."

Zorome said harshly back, "Zorome the Great never gives up, not ever! We're playing this out until the end, you hear me!"

Goro just sighed and shook his head in response, but he got into position all the same.

Zorome cracked his knuckles: the game was _on_.

The two pairs went back and forth for a good twenty-something minutes, steadily racking up points. Surprisingly, it was a close game. Sometimes one team would pull ahead by just a couple of points, but then the other team would always manage to catch right back up. By the end of the game, both teams were tied at twenty points apiece, and it was Team Zorome's ball.

For the umpteenth time, Zorome wiped the sweat from his brow as he dribbled the ball, trying to figure out the easiest route to the basket. Deciding to go for what he knew best, he tried to do the same move as he had on the first possession; he made as if to go one way, and then the other. Hiro still fell for it, somehow, and he stumbled out of the way just enough for Zorome to make it past him.

But then Zero Two appeared out of nowhere, blocking his path. Zorome stopped short, quickly assessing his options. He glanced over to Goro and thought about passing to him for a shot, but then Hiro recovered and ran over to defend the taller boy. Goro had been shooting the ball very well all game, but Zorome decided that he'd rather try to score himself, instead of hoping that Goro would hit a contested jump-shot.

And so Zorome backed up, trying to give himself space to assess how best to deal with getting past Zero Two. He dribbled as he thought, planning out routes and moves in his head. Just as he felt that he had a solid enough maneuver however, _it_ happened.

He dribbled the ball one last time before making his initial move, and it was just at that moment that Zero Two shot out a hand and swiped the ball from him. From the side, there was a collective gasp from the rest of the squad. Zorome's eyes widened in horror at what had happened; unless he or Goro acted quickly enough, Zero Two would easily score and win the game.

Seeing that he had no hope of getting in front of her, Zorome desperately called out, "Goro!"

The taller boy reacted instantly, running around Hiro and getting in between Zero Two and the basket. Just as he got into position to defend her however, she performed her _coup de grace_.

Having picked up ample speed, Zero Two picked up the ball, took two more steps, and jumped. Time seemed to slow as everyone watched her, sailing through the air with her long pink ponytail flowing out behind her. Goro looked up in awe as she passed clear _over_ him. And then she slammed the ball into the basket once again, this time hanging off of the rim with both hands for an annoying amount of time. She looked over to Zorome and said, "This means that Darling and I win, right?"

Zorome knew he should have been angry. He should have complained, made the excuse that she had only been able to steal the ball because the sun was in his eyes; _something_! But no, that whole sequence had been just…utterly beautiful. He still felt his jaw hanging open as he shook his head to regain his senses, and finally responded, "Yeah…yeah. You guys win, good game, yadda yadda."

Finally, Zero Two dropped down to the ground, landing lightly on her feet. Their audience began to cheer for the winners and Hiro ran over to the pink-haired girl, wrapping her in a tight hug. "That was amazing, Zero Two!"

Completely at odds with her demeanor for the entire game, she said in an adoring voice, "Really, Darling? You think so?"

Hiro nodded enthusiastically, "Of course, Zero Two; you're _always_ amazing."

She giggled, then kissed him on the lips.

And at this point, Zorome shook his head and looked away.

Goro walked over and patted his shoulder good-naturedly, "Good game, Zorome. We almost won; maybe we can get a rematch some time." He didn't wait for a response as he quickly walked over to his fishing supplies, gathered the items up, and went inside the house.

Zorome stood there for a few silent moments before another presence made itself known, specifically by slamming into him from behind and wrapping its arms around him. "Hey there, cutie. You all right?"

Blushing somewhat at Miku's nickname for him, Zorome said, "I feel like I should be mad, but honestly? That dunk was _awesome_."

Miku shifted so that she stood next to him. She patted him on the same shoulder that Goro had before saying, "It really was. Maybe next time you'll actually try and win, though."

Zorome turned to her sharply and said, "Hey! I tried, all right! I-mph!" Miku cut him off by slamming her lips into his, and he blushed scarlet at the sheer publicity of the display.

Everyone around them cheered once again, and all Zorome thought to himself was that no matter how embarrassing it was, he truly did love Miku.


	9. Chapter 9 - Revelations

If Ichigo had to describe the next couple of days in just one word, that word would be _magical_. She couldn't have been prouder of her squad: even with their small stockpile of ever-dwindling resources, through their combined ingenuity the squad was not only just managing, but even living comfortably after the past month or however long it had been – honestly, Ichigo had lost track. Everyone took their individual responsibilities seriously, and only relaxed once they were all taken care of. This time spent largely isolated from outside contact had taught Squad 13 the lessons of cooperation, interdependence, and – most surprisingly for many of them – love.

That was the other thing. Almost everyone in the squad had paired off into couples, and no longer were lines drawn between boys and girls. Instead, they were one, cohesive group. A part of Ichigo still couldn't believe that, after all of the drama she had caused during Zero Two's early months with the squad, that everyone – and she herself – had attained this level of general happiness. The warmth that her new relationship with Ikuno brought her…it was unrivaled in what made her most happy about the squad's current situation.

Smiling to herself, Ichigo leaned back into Ikuno's arms and released a contented sigh. The two lovebirds were seated at the base of a large tree near the house, enjoying the shade in the warm afternoon. Ikuno had begun to read a new book, albeit this time it was one from their library and not the beachside village. The book focused on outer space, and specifically the stars and constellations. Ichigo had recommended it.

The squad leader herself was happy to simply lounge as she observed the rest of her friends going about their days. By one section of the house, Kokoro and Mitsuru were in the middle of planting a new garden filled with various flowers for everyone to enjoy, while Futoshi attempted to help as best he could. Ellie, the resident cat, sat close by and watched the three gardeners work. Over by the basketball court, Hiro, Goro, and Zorome were playing around with the ball. And possibly most surprising of all, Miku and Zero Two were actually having a conversation, just the two of them.

Ichigo smiled to herself. _We really have gotten over all of our differences, haven't we?_ Besides Ichigo herself, Miku had been the most suspicious of Zero Two when the horned girl had first joined their squad. But it seemed that the fiery redhead had followed suit after Ichigo and Zero Two had buried the hatchet, so to speak.

Ichigo watched as Miku glanced over at Zorome, said something to Zero Two, and then both girls broke into wild laughter. The squad leader smiled again.

Turning her head slightly, she addressed the person she was currently nestled up against. "Hey, 'Kuno?"

"Hm?" came the somewhat distracted response, as Ikuno turned to the next page of the book.

Ichigo blushed lightly as she said, "I love you."

The book lowered, then was closed and laid carefully on the ground next to Ikuno as she leaned in and pressed her cheek to Ichigo's, who giggled at the contact. Ikuno whispered back, "I love you, too." Then she leaned forward a little more, catching the smaller girl's lips with her own. As always, butterflies erupted in Ichigo's stomach at the act of intimacy, while little electric jolts jumped all around her lips. The blissful contact lasted a few beats, then they pulled apart. They shifted to get into a slightly more comfortable position, with Ikuno wrapping an arm around Ichigo as the squad leader tucked her legs underneath herself and somehow managed to nestle even more deeply in the taller girl's side.

Minutes of comfortable silence passed before Ichigo said, "I think that these past couple of months have been the best of my entire life." And she meant it, truly.

After a beat, she felt Ikuno nod as she said, "I feel the same. I've had this hole in my heart for my entire life, and if it weren't for all of this," she paused to gesture at their general surroundings, but really she meant their isolation from the outside world, "I don't know if things would have turned out as they have; if you and I would have ever…." She trailed off, and Ichigo didn't even want to entertain the thought of not being with Ikuno. It had only been a short amount of time, but already she couldn't imagine not being in a relationship with her; not spending time with and talking to and sleeping next to the person she trusted and loved the most in her life. So quickly had Ikuno become a vital part of her every day. Idly, she wondered if this was what it was like for Hiro and Zero Two.

A few minutes passed before Ichigo spoke again, and when she did, it was with a tinge of sadness. "You know, I almost wish that we could just stay like this, forever." It was an echo of what Ikuno had said herself, a long time ago now, and from before…everything.

Ikuno sighed. "I do, too." She pressed her nose to Ichigo's neck, taking a deep breath. Ichigo giggled at the tickle of air rushing along the sensitive skin, and it brought a smile to Ikuno's face. After a while, she kissed the spot and whispered, "So, why don't we?"

Ichigo allowed herself a sad smile. "You heard Nine-Alpha when he was here; it's only a matter of time before they come to collect us for the next big battle."

Ichigo felt her friend shake her head. "But who knows what's happened since then? Maybe the battle already happened, and they didn't need us. Maybe they've forgotten about us and we're free to live here forever, like we want." A beat, then she chuckled as she said, "Maybe that pompous _ass_ was just lying to try and get in our heads, if anything."

Ichigo gave an exaggerated gasp as she exclaimed, " _Ikuno_!" in a faux-attempt at reprimanding the girl for her use of a swear word.

Ikuno merely chuckled again as she hugged Ichigo closer to herself for a moment, before leaning forward to kiss her again. After she pulled back, she cracked a wry smile and whispered, "Sorry, _Nana_."

Ichigo blushed and spluttered out, "W-Why you!"

Ikuno waggled her eyebrows at Ichigo, and the smaller girl lasted only a second before she burst out laughing.

Magical days indeed.

* * *

In the rare times that the girls were apart, as well as when they relaxed in bed together before going to sleep, Ichigo finally finished reading _Jurassic Park_. It really was as excellent of a story as Ikuno had made it sound, and then some. It almost made Ichigo sad; stories like these were supposedly plentiful in the old days, but all they had now were largely just encyclopedias, manuals, and how-to guides. She longed for a time where good stories would be bountiful once again.

After she and Ikuno had gotten ready for bed, Ichigo had begun discussing the book with her bedmate. Ikuno was excited to hear all of Ichigo's thoughts on the novel, and they spent hours talking about almost every scene; how certain things were 'so cool' and how others were symbolic of other messages. One thing they both wholeheartedly agreed on was that Dr. Ian Malcolm was the saddest casualty of the entire story, while the lead scientist, Henry Wu, and the owner of the park, John Hammond, _probably_ deserved their respective fates.

As their discussion neared the end of the story, Ichigo had only one question on her mind. Sliding one arm underneath her head, she gazed up at the ceiling as she said, "So, the one thing I don't think I really understood was during the helicopter scene at the end, when they finally escaped from the island."

Ikuno gave a thoughtful, "Hm," and Ichigo saw her motion for her to continue her thought out of the corner of her eye.

"The soldier just kept asking Dr. Grant and the other survivors if they were 'in control' over and over again, and they kept saying 'no.'" She turned onto her side, shifted to lean on an elbow and look at Ikuno. "I feel like that was supposed to be really significant, but I don't think I got it, really."

Ikuno nodded at her, then looked off at nowhere in particular as she contemplated what Ichigo had said. In the meantime, Ichigo was in awe yet again at the beautiful girl beside her; the pale moonlight streaming in through the window illuminated Ikuno's pale skin, and her loose hair fell just past her shoulders in a violet, silky cascade.

After a few moments, Ikuno took a breath, then spoke. "I think…I think that it was supposed to symbolize the main message of the story." She turned to face Ichigo, mirroring her position. "Ian kept talking about the idea of control, and how it was just an illusion in regards to nature, right?"

Ichigo nodded, following along with Ikuno's explanation.

"So, when the soldier kept asking everyone if they were in control, and the answer was no, then-"

"-then that meant that in reality, no one was in control, ever!" Ichigo excitedly supplied.

Ikuno smiled. "That's right." She leaned in and kissed the tip of Ichigo's nose, causing the smaller girl to giggle.

"But," Ikuno continued, "I don't think it was just that."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Ikuno took a moment to gather her thoughts, then continued, "It's when humanity tried to control nature that all of the bad stuff happened; basically, we can have all of the order and control we want in our own lives and over ourselves, but as soon as we try to control natural processes, nothing good can come of it."

Ichigo was staring at Ikuno, her mouth slightly agape.

Confused, Ikuno questioned hesitantly, "…Ichigo?"

The smaller girl visibly shook herself, then she smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry, you're just so pretty when you're thinking." Her cheeks colored, "I-I got distracted."

Ikuno felt a blush of her own color her cheeks even as she chuckled in response to Ichigo's explanation. "You're too adorable for your own good, you know that, right?"

Ichigo giggled again, then said, "Then you're too smart for your own good!"

Ikuno raised her eyebrows. "Oh, is that so?"

Ichigo nodded emphatically and mock-glared at Ikuno, who mock-glared right back at her. Neither would blink first. It had suddenly become a contest of wills, and Ichigo wasn't backing down. Each girl struggled to maintain the unending eye contact after the first minute, and eventually the dryness of her eyes got to Ikuno. She blinked, which was immediately met by Ichigo cheering and declaring herself winner, while Ikuno insisted that dust had floated into her eye.

Ikuno just shook her head again at the ball of sunshine next to her. Stretching, she let out a tired yawn before saying, "Well, I think it's about time to sleep, wouldn't you say?

Glancing at Ichigo, she saw that the blue-haired girl was staring at her again, smiling. And again, she chuckled and said, "What is it now?"

Ichigo looked at her friend for a short while before saying warmly, "Thank you, Ikuno."

Cocking an eyebrow, Ikuno smiled slightly and asked, "What for?"

 _For saving the book, for telling me how you truly felt about me, for giving me the chance to figure myself out, for being such a good friend, for spending time with me, for- for-_ "-for just, everything; for being _you_ ," Ichigo finally said. "I love you."

Ikuno whispered softly, "I love you, too, Ichi."

They closed the short distance between their faces, and shared a long, warm kiss. Then Ichigo shifted and turned to press her back to Ikuno's front, while Ikuno draped an arm loosely over her midsection in response. They settled into their favored position for sleep, and Ichigo made sure that she was as snuggled up to Ikuno as possible.

But after several silent minutes had passed, a thought suddenly occurred to Ichigo. Fearing that her bedmate had fallen asleep, she quietly ventured, "Ikuno…?"

Next to her, a very-awake voice responded, "Yes, Ichi?"

Ichigo was still getting her thoughts in order, but overall, she knew what she wanted to say. "It kind of scares me, you know?"

"What scares you?"

Ichigo took a breath. "Just…what it means for us; that the idea that control is only an illusion. It's such an important part of our lives, now. We control the FranXX; the stamens control the pistils, in one sense; the adults control the children and eventually the Parasites; and I guess at the top of it all, Papa controls APE and everyone else. Our entire lives are built on the idea of control."

Ikuno was silent for several long moments. Eventually, she said, "I…I hadn't thought of it like that. I think…huh."

Ichigo waited a few moments before prompting her, "What are you thinking, 'Kuno?"

"I…" she trailed off into silence, and she remained so for a few minutes. Ichigo felt herself beginning to fade into the warm embrace of sleep when Ikuno finally said, "It is scary, isn't it? Profound, even."

Ichigo tried to say, 'uh huh,' but she was cut off in the middle by a long yawn. "Sorry," she murmured sleepily.

She felt Ikuno press soft lips to her cheek, then a soft voice whispered, "It's fine, never mind, for now. Goodnight, Ichigo, sleep well." Ichigo tried to respond, but before she even realized it, she had fallen asleep.

Ikuno laid there in silence, contemplating a great many things. What Ichigo had said, regarding how control played such a major role in all of their lives…it had resonated with her. She didn't quite know why, but she felt that the idea of control was the missing piece in what had been stuck at the back of her mind since she had first finished reading _Jurassic Park_. There was something that she just wasn't connecting, but she knew it was right there; she could almost _feel_ the breakthrough-moment coming ever closer.

When it didn't come, however, Ikuno let out a frustrated sigh. She made herself a little more comfortable in her spot on the bed. Between the shared warmth of their bodies and Ichigo's soothing scent, Ikuno felt herself quickly lose the battle with sleep, finally surrendering the same darkness as the girl in her arms.

* * *

 _Small. Scared. Alone._

 _Too-bright lights in a too-large room._

 _Frightened, she ran from wall to wall, looking for a way out._

 _Minutes passed, and still she was trapped. Her fear reached new heights._

 _Then a door opened, and_ they _entered; the scary ones – the doctors. They cornered her, reached for her, their hands wrapped around her and no matter how much she struggled, there was no escape. Finally losing all control, she screamed-_

 _-and they easily lifted her up, carrying her to a section of wall that opened into a long, dark passage. Distantly, she knew that this place was supposed to be the Garden. She desperately tried to ask where the rest of the squad was; where_ Ichigo _was, but she couldn't speak. Instead, the only noises that came from her mouth were chirps and screeches and snarls._

 _That was odd, but she had no time to dwell on it, because before she knew it, they had brought her to a new room. Well, 'room' wasn't exactly the right word; looking around, she saw that it was similar in construction to the room she had just been in, but the opposite end of the chamber ended not in a wall, but in a massive, yawning cavern, its floor nowhere in sight. And at its edge, smiling as he stood perfectly still and patiently watched her, was Nine-Alpha._

 _Ikuno didn't know what was going on. Did Alpha seek revenge for her backhanding him? Again, she tried to speak, and again all she could do was emit those odd and discomforting sounds._

 _The doctors carried her closer and closer to Alpha and the pit, but stopped upon reaching a glass window in one of the walls. Glancing inside, she saw three familiar figures looking back at her, their expressions blank: Hachi, Nana, and, most surprisingly, Dr. Franxx himself._

 _She tried to call to them for help, but instead of responding, they all slowly turned in place, facing away from the window; away from Ikuno. And it was in that window that Ikuno finally saw her reflection._

 _Staring back at her was not her own face, but that of what she…assumed resembled what the baby velociraptors were described as in_ Jurassic Park _. As if in confirmation of her realization, the lights flickered on and off, and her reflection changed to her own face as a young child, then back again. Somehow this was the one thing that didn't scare her; in fact, she felt as if this helped confirm the thoughts she had been struggling with earlier, in the waking world._

 _But then a voice drew her attention back to the edge of the pit._

" _It's no use, you know" Alpha said, regarding her with a smug grin. "They can't help you, now. Papa had such high hopes for you – for Squad 13. But instead of serving him, you've decided to serve your own, disgusting whims."_

 _Ikuno wanted to argue, or at least give him a good backhand, but she still couldn't move – the doctors held her so tightly, keeping her from shifting even a little. And her mouth refused to respond to her commands to form words; all she managed were angered hisses._

 _Alpha continued to grin smugly. "Squad 13 had a good run, but then you began to abuse your freedoms. He had hoped to keep you under control, but now Papa has no use for you. It's time for a new iteration."_

' _Iteration.' Why was that word so familiar? Oh. Of course. In_ Jurassic Park _, 'iteration' was how Dr. Wu, the main scientist and geneticist, referred to each version of an individual dinosaur species, with the older, 'less-authentic' creations being replaced with newer, 'better' iterations. Just like the Parasites were so easily replaced when they stopped being useful to Papa; when they could not – or did not – serve his will any longer._

 _As if he had read her mind, Alpha said, "You saw the photo in the abandoned section of your house; they were failures, too."_

 _Suddenly she was at the edge of the room, looking down into the cavern beyond. What she saw horrified her._

 _Bodies. So many bodies. The pile stretched on and on, disappearing into the darkness beyond her vision. She scanned over their empty, lifeless faces, and with a start, she realized that they were the faces of all of the children taken away at the Garden; the Disappeared. There were so many._

 _And then her gaze settled on the bodies closest to her, at the top of the pile. At first, she recognized them as the Parasites from the old photo. But then their faces began to morph and change. Her blood ran cold as she realized that she was now looking at Squad 13._ Her _Squad 13._

 _She tried to scream, but no noise escaped her mouth. Even as she locked eyes with the gray husk of Ichigo, empty of all life._

 _Next to her, Alpha whispered in her ear, "They needed to be replaced, and were. Just. Like. You." He pushed her._

 _Finally, Ikuno screamed._

* * *

" _NOOOOOOOOOO!"_

Miku sat bolt-upright in bed, a knot of worry instantly settling in her stomach. She quickly slipped out from her covers and padded over to Kokoro, who somehow managed to look like a beautiful angel even as she slept. Miku hesitantly reached out, took Kokoro by the shoulders, and gently shook her.

Kokoro blinked groggily, then whispered, "Miku? What's wrong?"

Miku whispered worriedly, "I think I heard a scream come from Ichigo and Ikuno's room. Come with me?"

Kokoro nodded slowly, and Miku stepped back to give the blonde space to get out of her bed. Then together, they quickly left their shared room and walked the short distance down the hall to their neighbors. Miku silently listened at the door for a few moments; she could hear muffled sounds of crying. She looked to Kokoro, who nodded towards the door in response. Miku gave the door a hesitant knock.

A tired-yet-anxious-sounding voice called out, "Come in." It was Ichigo.

Miku gave Kokoro a worried look, then gently pushed on the door. She was greeted to the sight of Ikuno latched onto Ichigo, uncontrollably sobbing into the girl's shoulder. Both girls were sitting up in their bed, and Ichigo rubbed slow circles on Ikuno's back in an effort to help calm her down.

Ichigo made eye contact with Miku and asked, "Could you please get some water; I think it'll help her."

Miku immediately nodded and left the room, quickly making her way down to the kitchen to retrieve a glass of water. As she walked there and back, a swirl of questions flowed through her mind.

 _Why was Ikuno crying? Were they already in bed together, like that? Should I be sleeping in bed with Zorome? Ew, no. But at the same time, that doesn't sound so bad…. I wonder if they were trying to do that thing Kokoro talked about and make a baby. Is that even possible for two girls? I wonder if Zorome-_

-and she had returned to the hallway leading to Ichigo and Ikuno's room. However, she noticed that there were distinctly more people here than before, all gathered around the entrance to the bedroom in question.

At the back of the group were Goro, Futoshi, and Zorome. Miku pushed her way past them, giving Zorome a quick peck on the cheek as she went by. Then she slid between Hiro and Zero Two, and finally around Kokoro and Mitsuru. She confidently stepped up to the side of the girls' shared bed and held out the glass of water to Ichigo.

The squad leader looked at her with tired eyes and quietly said, "Thank you, Miku."

Miku smiled and nodded in response, but upon getting a closer look at Ikuno, she quickly felt as if she was intruding. Ikuno's face was flushed, tears still running steadily down her cheeks. Her sobs had transitioned into a bad case of hiccups, and from the way she was still firmly latched onto Ichigo, it looked as if she was afraid that the blue-haired girl was going to suddenly disappear at any moment.

Miku decided that the best course of action was to give the girls space, so she rejoined the rest of the squad at the door. She took her spot next to Zorome, who silently wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Even with the current situation, she blushed at the gesture and couldn't help the little butterflies that suddenly began to fly around in her stomach.

But then her attention was drawn back to the interior of the room, where Ichigo began to speak.

* * *

Ichigo continued to rub small circles along Ikuno's back, glad that she had succeeded in at least somewhat calming the girl down. After a few moments, she quietly ventured, "Ikuno? Want some water?"

A few more moments passed, the only sound coming from Ikuno's hiccups. Finally, she turned her face just enough to look up into Ichigo's eyes and nod.

Even as she handed over the glass Miku had retrieved for her, Ichigo was disturbed by what she saw when she looked into Ikuno's bloodshot eyes. There was a faraway, haunted look, as if Ikuno had seen something that had affected her so greatly that she could never forget it. _She looks like she's seen death_ , Ichigo thought.

After Ikuno finally managed to gulp down the entire glass, Ichigo took it from her and set it down on the bedside table. Still holding her tight, she asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

A full minute passed in silence before Ikuno began to slowly nod. It was another two minutes before she finally managed to speak. What she said – and the tone in which she said it – chilled Ichigo to the bone: "We don't matter. None of us matters."

Ichigo looked at her questioningly, a feeling of dread settling in the pit of her stomach. "What do you mean, Ikuno?"

Ikuno still had that faraway look in her eyes as she responded, "They don't care about us."

Ichigo prompted her again, "Who? Who doesn't care about us?"

Finally, some emotion came back to Ikuno's voice as she said, "The _adults_. _Papa_. None of them cares about us."

Ichigo was perplexed. "Wh-what? Where is this coming from, Ikuno?" Glancing over to the rest of the squad, Ichigo saw that their reactions to Ikuno's words were varied; Kokoro and Mitsuru looked tired and sad, Hiro and Zero Two were stony-faced, and Goro, Futoshi, Miku, and Zorome all looked confused.

Ikuno spoke again, but this time there was an edge to her voice, as if she had found a sword and drawn it. "Papa, the adults…they don't care about the Parasites – about _us_. We're a means to an end. Soldiers to serve and die in _their_ war, without any say in the matter. We're just _fodder_."

Ichigo saw Zero Two close her eyes, twin tears streaking their way down her cheeks. Hiro wrapped an arm around her, and everyone else looked visibly upset.

Ikuno continued, "They just throw us away like we're faulty parts of a machine, from the beginning of our lives to the very end." She looked up to Ichigo, then at the rest of the squad. "You all remember the Garden! How many of our friends were taken away after they were deemed unfit to operate a FranXX? Fifty? One hundred? _More_?" She gestured to Hiro, "They even considered taking Hiro away before Zero Two came to us, and remember _Noami_! We didn't hear from her after she was taken away, so who knows what happened to her?"

Ikuno sat up straighter, and despite the tears still trailing down her cheeks, a look of pure purpose took over her features as she continued to speak. "And we all saw the old picture in the abandoned wing. That whole squad was replaced _by us_ , and the only evidence that they had even existed was locked away in some old room. We're _nothing_ to the adults. In the end, we don't matter, all that matters is how many klaxosaurs we can kill before we get killed ourselves."

She trained her gaze on Kokoro and Mitsuru. "And if we so much as dare make a decision on our own; if we _fall in love_ , Papa sends out his elite team to terrorize us and remind us that we are under his control. We can't leave anything for the future because _we aren't supposed to have a future_." Kokoro broke into tears, and Mitsuru held her as she cried.

Ikuno was speaking quickly, now. "When we all die, he'll just replace us with a new iteration of obedient soldiers, all mindlessly following his directives until they-until they-until-" The dam she had been trying to construct burst, and she began to cry again, collapsing back into Ichigo's arms.

Ichigo held her, began to rub small circles on her back again. Her thoughts were a mess, Ikuno's words tearing down walls in her mind with each declaration. Ichigo knew she was right, truthfully. Everything Ikuno had said was true. It just really hurt to think about it, to acknowledge it. Ichigo felt warm tears begin to slide down her own cheeks, and suddenly she was clutching Ikuno just as much as Ikuno clung to her, both girls crying in each other's arms.

A few moments passed like this, and then Ichigo felt two other pairs of arms wrap warmly and securely around them. Looking up from Ikuno's shoulder, she saw that both Hiro and Zero Two were hugging them. Sniffing, Ichigo asked, "Wh-what are you doing?"

Hiro gave her a sad look, and suddenly Ichigo could see the years of exhaustion settled in his eyes. He whispered, "Because you finally see. I saw what you see now, all the way back then, in the Garden. I asked about the children who disappeared, why they had to go away and what happened to them." He looked to Zero Two. "I saw what happened to Zero Two; how the adults tortured and experimented on her." A tear curved its way down Zero Two's cheek as she nodded in confirmation.

Ichigo looked back and forth between the pair, unsure if she should ask questions or just cry some more.

Then Hiro said, "So Ikuno's right. In the end, Papa and the adults really don't care about us. They just use us until we're no longer useful, and then we're replaced."

Surprisingly, a voice from near the doorway spoke up. "W-well, I don't want to be replaced!" Ichigo looked over Hiro's shoulder and saw that Futoshi was crying himself, even as he said, "I want to live, all right?! I don't want to just-to just-"

"Die and be replaced, be forgotten," Mitsuru supplied. Futoshi nodded, tears pouring down his cheeks.

"Then let's not." Everyone's attention was drawn to Zero Two, who hadn't spoken up to this point. Even as tears poured down her cheeks as well, she spoke. "We don't have to follow the plan the adults have for us. We have each other, and we've _survived_. Forget them, forget the klaxosaurs – we can live our own lives, away from everything." She looked at Hiro and spoke in a softer voice, "We can all live out our lives in peace, Darling."

Then Goro stepped forward; Ichigo saw just how tired and sad he looked, as well. "While I agree with everything that's been said, I think you're all forgetting one thing."

Ichigo looked at her friend questioningly. "What?"

He took off his glasses and began to rub the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "Alpha said that they would be coming to retrieve all of us, and that could be happening any day now. If we wanted to run away and live on our own – and I don't even know how we would escape in the first place, or where we would even go – we'd have to leave before they come for us."

Ichigo nodded. It made sense. While the idea of running away and living in freedom sounded great right now, it was essentially an impossibility. And on top of that, Papa would most likely send his elites to hunt them down and retrieve them – or worse – rather than let them go.

She nodded again. "Goro's right; we can't run away. Our chances of surviving would be so low that it's not even worth considering."

Next to her, Hiro spoke up, "There might be another way, then."

Everyone turned their attention to him, and Zorome asked, "What would that be, huh?" Looking to the boy, Ichigo saw that he was crying, too, but had a determined look on his face. He held Miku to his side fiercely, as if to protect the girl. Apparently, whatever illusions he had convinced himself of about the adults had faded over the course of the squad's isolation.

Hiro said, "Let them come for us. When we go to wherever it is that all of the plantations are gathering, we'll demand to talk to Papa and tell him that we want our independence. That we want to be _free_."

Mitsuru was shaking his head. "But what guarantees that he'll agree? By what Ikuno said, he could just as easily have us all killed."

Hiro remained silent for a few beats, formulating a response. Then he said, "Not if we agree to fight in this last battle. It sounded like they need every available Parasite to fight, so if we agree to go out there one last time, Papa might be willing to grant us our freedom in return." What he didn't add was that they had Zero Two and Strelitzia, and that most likely Papa _needed_ her for this battle.

When no one spoke up or responded, Hiro looked to each and every one of his friends before asking, "So is anyone opposed to that plan? If so, say something now."

They remained silent.

He turned to the two girls on the bed and quietly asked, "Ichigo? Ikuno? Does that sound okay?"

Ichigo looked to Ikuno, who nodded silently. That was all the convincing she needed. Turning to address not just Hiro, but the entire squad, she said in a voice full of resolve, "Then it's settled. When they come for us, we'll go willingly and demand our independence from Papa. We will be free!"


	10. Chapter 10 - The Calm Before the Storm

**Author's Note:** Notes Part 1: Heyyy, I'm not actually gone! I want to start off by saying that I am so, so sorry. I know, I know. Ten months is a sucky amount of time to have to wait for an update, and I truly am extremely sorry. Finishing university and dealing with the fantastically stressful world of jobs and general adulting did a number on me, but I'm finally, thankfully in a place where I feel comfortable getting back into the swing of writing. So I'm starting with the next chapter in this story, and I'm here to stay (I'll have more to say in the end notes).

Notes Part 2: As you can probably tell at this point dear readers, I've ret-conned small details from the show – and episodes 17 & 18 especially - to make more sense both in general and in my version of events. So, if anything does not seem quite right or if you have questions for me to clear up, I'd be happy to respond in the comments! For now, enjoy!

* * *

Ichigo closed her eyes and tried to enjoy as Ikuno expertly worked her sudsy fingers through the smaller girl's hair, massaging along her scalp as she went. They currently shared the shallow, designated bathing area of the stream with the rest of the girls, each of whom was busy either cleaning themselves or relaxing. Deft fingers rubbed at the back of her skull, slowly sliding lower so that they were dragging gently along the length of her sensitive neck. Ichigo couldn't help but release a small gasp as Ikuno's hands continued downwards to her shoulders, where she began to work on tight knots of stress. Sparks of heat erupted across her skin, emanating from wherever the tips of Ikuno's expert fingers touched. A blush grew on her cheeks as she focused on the pleasurable feeling. But as much as she tried, she could not truly enjoy the treatment.

Dark thoughts weighed on her mind. The night prior, the squad had reached the consensus that, following the upcoming battle, they would declare their independence from Papa and the adults. Too many secrets were kept by the parasites' supposed leaders, and too many of their brothers and sisters had been 'pruned;' deemed unfit for life and thrown away like useless trash. Ichigo knew that leaving was the right choice, and that they had no other option. But at the same time, she couldn't see any way out of this. There was no way that the squad would be able to go against Papa and walk away unscathed. And on top of that, where would they go if they did indeed get their freedom? What would they do for food and shelter? How would they be able to _survive_?

These questions ran through her head yet again, as they had been during every waking moment since the night before. She yearned for a clear answer to make itself known, so that she could carry out her duty as squad leader and guide her family safely to freedom. But no matter how she looked at it, she just didn't know what to do.

The hands that had slowly made it all way down to the small of her back suddenly shifted, reaching around Ichigo's front and encircling her small frame. She exhaled as she let herself get pulled back into the embrace, allowing Ikuno's arms to fully wrap around her and pull her flush against the taller girl's front. Ikuno then leaned her head forward, resting it on Ichigo's left shoulder. If Ikuno knew what was going on in her lover's mind, she didn't say anything; she simply held Ichigo, gently rocking their bodies back and forth in the warm water.

 _Inhale. Exhale. Repeat._ Ichigo breathed in the scent of Ikuno's freshly-cleaned hair, letting the aroma soothingly wash over her. Just the same as the small ripples in the water rolling away from them, all of the dark, worrying thoughts did not quite leave her, but they did fade somewhat to the background of her mind. Right here, right now, it was just Ikuno, holding Ichigo steady. No one had ever made Ichigo feel this safe; had been able to so easily assuage her fears with just a touch.

Thoughts focusing entirely on the girl holding her so closely, Ichigo couldn't help but admire Ikuno for a whole host of reasons. Not only was Ikuno keeping her steady, but at the same time, Ikuno herself seemed to have miraculously recovered from the prior night's ordeal. After making sure that both girls would be all right, the rest of the squad had returned to their rooms to try and get what sleep they could. Alone in their room once again, Ichigo had held Ikuno, telling her that everything would be all right until, finally, they both managed to fall back asleep. Seeing how calm Ikuno was this morning; her resilience in the face of both her revelation and what the squad now had to do; it made Ichigo love her all the more.

She felt her blush grow as her heartbeat began to pick up. She didn't know why, but she was becoming acutely aware of just how much of her and Ikuno's bare bodies were touching in the water. That strange, hot feeling from the first morning after their date came back, making her blush grow more intense. However, if Ikuno felt something similar, she didn't make it known. Ichigo opened her mouth to say something, but she was cut off as another voice made itself known.

" _Aww_ , just look at you guys! You're so _cute_!" Miku was clasping her hands together in front of her as she swooned over the sight before her.

Ichigo immediately shifted to be more upright, pulling out of the comfort of Ikuno's embrace. Her blush turning to one of embarrassment, she felt as if she had just been caught doing something extremely private. She didn't know why she felt that way; it was an odd feeling, and not one to which she was accustomed. She coughed as she awkwardly moved to sit next to Ikuno, then waved a dismissive hand at Miku. "Ikuno was just, um, letting me know that everything's going to be all right."

Miku's demeanor immediately changed, her understanding becoming visible as much of the cheerfulness in her face and stature left her. She slouched into the water somewhat as she nodded. "Right. That."

Ikuno nodded. "I know that this is really scary for everyone – myself included – but, if we make a plan and work together like the team we are, then we'll succeed. We _have_ to." Overhearing what was being said, Kokoro waded over from where she had been lounging and joined the other girls.

Ikuno reached out and held one of Ichigo's hands in the water, then continued speaking. "I'm sorry about my panic-attack last night, but this is the culmination of something that's been bothering me for a while now. It kept poking at the back of my mind, and last night, Ichigo helped me finally realize what was wrong with, well, _everything_." She waved her free hand in a general, all-encompassing gesture to emphasize her point.

Kokoro reached out to take ahold of the hand Ikuno had just gestured with. "Don't be sorry Ikuno; I think we were all thinking the same thing, in one way or another. You just helped us all realize that."

Miku raised a fist, some of her fire coming back. "Yeah, what Kokoro said! We've been ignoring the obvious for too long now!"

Seeing the girls' support for Ikuno warmed Ichigo's heart. As long as everyone was this supportive of each other, maybe they really did stand a fighting chance of making it out of this together and entirely whole.

But speaking of everyone, a certain someone was noticeably quiet. Glancing over at Zero Two, Ichigo saw that the girl had remained a short distance from the rest of the group, an inscrutable look on her face. Wondering what wheels could possibly be turning in the horned girl's head, Ichigo reluctantly let go of Ikuno's hand and drifted over to where her nemesis-turned-friend was kneeling in the water. Moving slowly so as not to spook her, once Ichigo was next to her, she quietly asked, "What's up, Zero Two? You look like you've got something troubling on your mind."

The pink-haired girl shook her head and rapidly blinked a few times, as if coming back to herself. Glancing to her friend, she smiled that dazzling smile of hers and responded, "Nothing troubling; just about what Darling and I will do when this is all over. I think that we'll go to the beach and get married while we stand in the ocean!"

Ichigo chuckled. Somehow, she wasn't really surprised that Zero Two was already daydreaming about things so far into the future. But, something Zero Two had said stuck out to her. A strange, unfamiliar word. With a puzzled look, Ichigo repeated, "'Married?' What does that mean?"

Zero Two looked at her in confusion, and then another bright, toothy smile overtook her features. "Oh! I haven't told you about that yet!" she exclaimed as she jumped up in the water and clapped her hands excitedly.

The rest of the girls shifted their focus to the commotion, and Ichigo couldn't help but smile at the girl's excitable attitude. As Ichigo went back over to Ikuno's side, she reiterated her question for everyone to hear. "So, what does it mean to get married?"

Zero Two's excitement was palpable as she stood up out of the water, proudly baring herself to the cool Mistilteinn air. Residual droplets pouring off of her body, she enthusiastically explained, "Getting married is a major step in a relationship. When two people love each other lots and know that they're destined to be together, they hold a big ceremony with all of their friends and exchange rings and promise to be together for the rest of their lives!"

The girls couldn't help but laugh at Zero Two's over-emphatic explanation, while Miku desperately tried to cover up the pink-haired girl's most intimate parts, lest one of the boys happen to 'accidentally' pass by.

Once the laughter had subsided and Zero Two answered some more of the girls' questions about marriage, Ichigo finally said, "You know Zero Two, that sounds really romantic. I think that Hiro would love that."

The horned girl smiled to herself and quietly responded, "I hope so."

Kokoro added, "I know he will; anyone would be lucky to have a wedding at the beach like that."

Ichigo's gaze traveled over to Ikuno, and found that the other girl was looking her way as well. When their eyes met, they immediately blushed and looked away from one another as they chuckled, embarrassed and unsure of what the look was meant to convey.

Then Miku threw her arms around both girls and said with a mischievous grin, "So, what about it, huh?"

Ichigo gave her a confused look and responded with a question of her own. "What about _what_?"

Miku looked back and forth between both girls, her smile growing from mischievous to pure Zorome. "You guys wanna get married?"

Ichigo felt her face flush a burning crimson, and saw much the same happen to Ikuno. She blinked rapidly as she tried to think of a response, her mouth opening and closing as she failed to do so.

Ikuno recovered first, coming to Ichigo's rescue as she responded in as composed of a voice as possible, "Miku, I think that marriage is something Ichigo and I would need to discuss at length beforehand; why rush things, you know?"

Miku rolled her eyes. "Ugh, you're no fun."

Ikuno chuckled. "Maybe so, but what about you and Zorome? You two seem to be very, _very_ comfortable together these days. Why don't you two think about getting married?"

It was Miku's turn to blush and splutter out a response, which elicited laughter from both Ichigo and Ikuno.

While the girls continued to poke fun at one another, Kokoro turned to Zero Two, a question forming on her lips. "Zero Two, you mentioned that you learned about marriage from a storybook. Do you still have it?"

Zero Two was floating on her back, looking up at the sky through a crack in Mistilteinn's glass ceiling. She continued to do so as she said, "No, not the original. But Darling and I recreated it from memory."

Kokoro smiled. "That's so romantic." A moment passed, where she seemed to debate something with herself. After another moment, she had made up her mind. "Would…would I be able to see it?"

Zero Two stuck her head up and looked at Kokoro. The spark in her eyes seemed to say that she knew exactly what the ash-blonde was thinking. Flashing a bright smile, she said in a just-as-bright voice, "Absolutely!"

Kokoro returned a small smile, her thoughts shifting to the one she loved. She whispered, "Thank you, Zero Two."

* * *

At dinner that night, Mitsuru seemed to be in much higher spirits than usual as he helped Goro ladle out the fish and noodle soup they had prepared. In fact, Ichigo was surprised as she heard him humming a happy little tune as he filled her bowl with the delicious smelling broth. His positive aura infectious, she couldn't help but smile as well when she asked, "What's gotten you in such a good mood, Mitsuru?"

He chuckled. "Don't worry, squad leader, you'll see in just a bit." And then he gave her a startlingly uncharacteristic wink. Not knowing how else to respond, Ichigo simply grinned and went to take her place next to Ikuno at the table. Whatever it was, it must have had something to do with Kokoro, because nothing else brightened Mitsuru up as much as that girl.

As it turned out, she was right. After only a few minutes had passed and everyone had taken their seats, the girl in question exited the house and approached the table with Hiro and Zero Two in tow. It appeared that Zero Two was carrying a book – Ichigo recognized it from when she had visited the pair's room and sought advice on what to do about her feelings for Ikuno.

Ichigo shifted her focus to Kokoro, who made a beeline for Mitsuru. Upon reaching him, they engaged in a short, whispered conversation. Ichigo noted that both of them seemed unable to stop smiling, and that they both took a few quick glances at the table as they spoke to one another. Meanwhile, Hiro and Zero Two stood a respectful distance away, small smiles of their own directed towards the other couple. Eventually, Kokoro asked Mitsuru a question, to which he responded with a firm nod. They proceeded to join hands as they turned to face the table.

 _Interesting…._ Ichigo wondered what was about to happen. She quickly turned to Ikuno and gave her a questioning look. Ikuno merely shrugged and gestured back at the couple, prompting Ichigo to once again turn and face them.

Mitsuru cleared his throat, a noticeable blush coloring his cheeks. "Everyone," he addressed his friends, pausing to ensure that he had their attention. With a bright smile, he continued, "Kokoro and I have an announcement to make."

Smiling just as brightly, Kokoro waited a moment, then opened with a short explanation. "So, earlier today, Zero Two taught us about marriage."

Ichigo's eyes widened in understanding, and she quickly turned to Ikuno once again to see if her partner had experienced the same realization. It was clear that she had, because an enormous smile had broken out on her beautiful face.

Across the table from them, Miku looked as if she was already going to cry out of happiness. But Goro, Futoshi, and Zorome each had the same perplexed look.

Zorome glanced between the barely-holding-back-tears Miku and the couple standing at the end of the table before asking, "Uh, so what's that mean?"

With a small giggle, Kokoro continued, "Zero Two told us that marriage is what two people do when they love each other very much; once they know that they want to be together for the rest of their lives, they hold a ceremony where they promise to do just that. They exchange vows to one another, as well as rings as symbols of their love." She finished her explanation with a look of the deepest love to Mitsuru, who returned it.

Her partner then turned to the squad and said, "So, Kokoro and I have decided to get married."

Miku finally burst; she wailed as she jumped out of her chair and ran over to Kokoro, wrapping her in a tight hug. She spoke between sobs of happiness, "I'm… _sniff_ …so happy… _cough_ …for you! C-congratulations!"

Kokoro giggled as she hugged Miku back and thanked her.

Ichigo was extremely happy for the couple. Out of everyone who had paired off in the squad, Kokoro and Mitsuru had been together second longest behind Hiro and Zero Two, and the two were obviously deeply in love. Ichigo felt an enormous grin break out on her face as she clapped and said, "Congratulations!"

Ikuno joined in and began to clap as well. "Congratulations, I'm happy for both of you!"

Goro walked over to give the couple his congratulations, while Zorome stood up out of his chair and whistled, yelling, "Congrats! This is awesome!"

Then Ichigo remembered that a specific someone had up until very recently been extremely infatuated with Kokoro. As Goro and Zorome gathered around Mitsuru and began excitedly talking, she turned to look over to Futoshi, who had remained in his seat and appeared to be fighting back tears. His gaze was locked on his bowl as he attempted to whisper his own strangled congratulations.

Kokoro must have seen this as well, because she carefully extricated herself from Miku's grip and made her way over to her former partner. She reached out, hesitated for a moment, and then placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her, tears leaking down his cheeks. The sight broke Ichigo's heart, so she could only imagine what it was doing to Kokoro.

The blonde gave a sad smile and quietly said something to Futoshi, just loud enough for him to hear. Then she gestured for Hiro and Zero Two to come over. Hiro took the book from his lover and held it up on his own, so that Zero Two could open it and carefully flip through the pages until she landed on what she was looking for: a beautifully-illustrated image of a man and a woman standing in front of a second man who appeared to be reading out something from a small book in his hands. Kokoro gestured to the image, then to Futoshi, and asked a question. Ichigo desperately tried to hear what was being said, but Kokoro was speaking too softly and the boys were still being loud at the other end of the table.

Whatever it was that she said, it must have made Futoshi happy, because he began to nod furiously. He stood up, and Kokoro hugged him. Ichigo saw a look cross the boy's features as he returned the embrace. It contained both immense sadness, but at the same time, acceptance. A sad smile crossed Ichigo's face. _It's all right, Futoshi. I know you'll find someone. You and Goro are both too good to not find love._ She knew this in her heart, just as surely as she knew that Ikuno was the one for her.

After another moment, the pair broke their hug, and went over to join the others. Ichigo turned back to Ikuno and reached out a hand. The taller girl took it, and with a loving squeeze, helped Ichigo out of her chair. They joined the group as well, and the rest of the night was devoted to celebrating the newly-engaged couple's announcement.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Ichigo was combing her hair, humming a little tune to herself while she wound down before bed. A pair of familiar arms wrapped around her midsection as a forehead pressed against her back. A small smile found its way onto her face, unable to hide the joy at having small, intimate moments like this one. She did not speak; she simply finished what she was doing before placing the comb on the bedside table. Then she turned around to face Ikuno, who not once let go of the smaller girl.

They lay next to one another, facing each other. Ikuno's hair was down, and Ichigo began to calmly run a hand through it, drawing a sigh from the other girl. "You know," she said quietly, "I think that this is exactly what we needed, with everything that's going on."

Ikuno responded with a quiet, " _Mhm_. At least we can make one last happy memory in this place, no matter what comes after."

Ichigo smiled, then leaned in to kiss her. Their lips pressed together for a tender few moments, before parting once again.

A light blush dusting her freckled cheeks, Ikuno giggled and asked, "What was that for?"

Ichigo nestled into her chest before responding, "What? I can't kiss you just because?" Ikuno giggled again in response, and it was music in the smaller girl's ears.

A few quiet moments passed, then Ikuno whispered, "I love you, Ichi." She gave a light kiss to the top of the blue-haired girl's head.

It was Ichigo's turn to giggle before responding, "I love you, too."

Settling in, they lay in comfortable silence after that. Ichigo looked forward to the next day; it was decided that the sooner Kokoro and Mitsuru had their wedding, the better. The plan was to divvy up tasks and have everyone spend the day preparing everything they would need for the ceremony. Then, they would have the actual wedding at sunset, providing a perfect backdrop to the momentous occasion.

A small smile made its way onto Ichigo's face, even as she felt sleep beginning to pull her under. Her heart felt much lighter than it had that morning. No matter what came next for the squad, they would face it together, as a family.

* * *

"So. It's all coming together, then." Dr. Franxx sat in front of a bank of several holographic monitors – over a dozen in total. Feeds from cameras all over Mistilteinn showed him everything going on in the last remnant of Plantation 13, allowing him to watch over his special group of handpicked parasites.

He had watched and listened, enraptured as codes 326 and 556 made their plans of marriage known. Saw as Squad 13 ate and danced in celebration of the announcement. His eyes had crinkled at the edges as the pieces fell into place, exactly as he had hoped they would.

Now, with all of the parasites asleep, he leaned forward in his chair with a mechanical sigh. Tapping at his keyboard, a command sent the monitors' projections floating over to an empty wall, out of the way. Then another amber-tinged screen bloomed to life in front of him. It was an email template, fresh and ready for his input.

Five minutes passed, and Werner looked over his message. He looked over it again. Changed a few words here; rearranged the order of some sentences there. And then, it was ready. He inhaled. Once he gave the command and his message was sent, there was no going back. Decades of preparation could be destroyed in moments, if things did not go according to his plan.

In the face of potential ruin, he steeled himself. He had not gotten as far as he had by allowing his doubts, his _fears_ dictate his actions. He had always forged onwards in the face of disapproval and ridicule as a young man, so who would he be to allow his own emotions get in the way of his plans now?

Werner took a breath, and pressed _Send_.

An electronic ping was the response, followed by a calm computerized voice. ' _Message sent._ '

It was done. The actions of the recipient were out of the doctor's control. He could only hope that his precious pieces survived the next phase of his plan.

Dr. Franxx stood and began to make his way towards his quarters. Typically not one to waste time on such trivialities as sleep, he knew that come the next day, he would not have many opportunities for rest going forward. From here on out, every step he took would have to be executed perfectly. Finally, he had reached the last phase of his plan.

However, he knew that only one thing lay outside the nonexistent margin of error: complete and total annihilation for him, the parasites, and for the entirety of humankind.

* * *

End Notes Part 1: So there you have it! What could the good doctor be planning? To whom was that message sent? How will the wedding play out? Find out next time!

End Notes Part 2: As a general update, I'll hopefully be getting back to updating at more regular intervals. But due to my job and other responsibilities, I'm going to hold myself to uploading a new chapter at least once a month, which is a much more realistic goal for me. Again, I am so sorry for how long it's been, and I hope that you will all stay with me for the final leg of this journey. I can't wait to show you all what's in store. For now, I'll simply say this: see you again in the next one!


End file.
